Heaven is a Place on Earth
by Ritska
Summary: Set in future timeline- Gohan has been fighting the androids alone for a handful of years now. With his friends and family gone, and after countess failures of defeating the android duo, Gohan is losing his hope and faith in his abilities to end this nightmare. What happens when those he thought were dead suddenly show up? How will the outcome be different?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello everyone! I am really glad that you have joined me for this story! It's been a few years since I have uploaded a story and I really appreciate that you have taken the time to read this. I took an unplanned and abrupt hiatus and I took that time to really improve my writing style so I hope you all enjoy!**_

 _ **Just a reminder that this story is set in the future timeline and it features Gohan and his relationship with many of the characters. However, there are many characters I would like to focus on in this story so it won't just be Gohan. There are some characters that I haven't yet decided if they should be in the story. The only character I know for sure that will not make an appearance in this story is Chiaotzu. I'm sorry, but I am just not familiar enough with his character and when I started writing I just did not see his presence within this story actually serving a purpose. I'm really sorry to those that like him. Also, if you could, I would really appreciate a review or a PM about this; if you like it, dislike it, if I should continue, if this is something you're actually interested in reading, requests, questions...really anything. I will appreciate anything you say about the story. So, now for the disclaimer:  
**_

 _ **I do not, have not, and will not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is this story and its plot line.  
**_

 _ **Alright, I think that's it for announcements.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **...**_

 **Chapter 1: When Saving One Another, There Are Consequences**

The sweat rolled off of his well toned arms as he huffed, out of breath. His hairline soaked with salty sweat the longer he continued to work. His white wife beater was quite soaked as well. He worked while music blasted in the small lab. The room itself, with its surprisingly clean white tiled walls, seemed to sweat with the intense heat just as the young man did.

Putting his torch down and stepping back from his project, the young man took off his mask and exhaled deeply, wiping his forehead with a towel.

The swishing of the sliding door entrance alerted him to his visitor before the voice reached him, "Ugh! Gohan!" the woman exclaimed, "It's like a steam room in here. How many times have I told you to open a window when you do torch work? You're going to suffocate yourself." the woman stated, annoyed and waving a hand in front of her face in a futile attempt to alleviate the heat that was assaulting her. Her normally well kept blue hair starting to frizz with the added moisture in the air. She also glared at the blaring radio.

The young man, Gohan, turned to look at her with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Bulma, but there aren't any windows in here." He gestured to the four walls around them.

Bulma turned to his radio and turned down the volume, the offending noise fading to quiet murmurs in the background. She turned back around to face Gohan while her hands tried to pat down her hair. The scowl she wore immediately slipped off of her face as she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. Temporarily forgetting her plights, Bulma tilted her head to the side to peak behind the teenager that stood in front of her. Spotting his work bench, she blinked owlishly and stepped past the dark haired teenager to get a better look. The teen side stepped to the side to allow her passage.

He turned toward her back as she got a closer look. Bulma gaped and brought a hand to her mouth, the other one coming to rest on her chest above her heart as her eyes skimmed each item on the table. The teen watched her silently, gauging her reaction.

After the shock wore off, Bulma lowered her hands to grasp greedily at the many blueprints that were scattered over the workbench. Her blues scanned each blueprint and then the bench, matching each item on the table surface to its respective blueprint. She let out a breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding and, with disbelief shining in her aquamarine eyes, she slowly lowered the prints back onto the table surface. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, she rested both hands on the table, she let her gaze travel over the contents again.

Gohan took a step towards her, head hung slightly while one hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "I know that, lately, you've been pretty frustrated with the progress you're making so far with your big project. I mean, you've got to worry about taking care of Trunks and trying to salvage what's left of your dying company; I thought you could use some help." He stated with a one shouldered shrug.

Bulma turned, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and pinned the young man with her gaze. Slowly, she asked, "You...you did...this" she turned and gestured her at the table before turning back to him, "...for me?"

Gohan cocked his head. "Well, yeah." He stated bluntly.

Bulma laughed lightly with disbelief, a few tears escaping the corner of her eyes. She swiped at her eyes and smiled brightly at Gohan, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly. After a second, she turned back to the gadgets with amazement in her eyes.

Gohan stood behind her, not sure what to do, waiting for her to take it all in.

Bulma gazed at each part garnered to a bigger picture. There, on the table, were many small parts to her latest hope for the future. These were parts to her big project; parts to her time machine. Bulma let out a soft giggle, one of giddiness, as she gently let her fingers glide across each piece.

She was amazed that this boy, a boy she had known for most of his living years, someone who was only a fraction of her age -not that she would ever admit to anyone her real age- had, not only built the parts belonging to a very complex and laughable idea to most, but had also took the time to improve upon her theories and edit her blueprints. If possible, her smile became wider as she picked up one of the smaller parts to inspect it.

Bulma's eyes widened as she brought it closer to her face, "Gohan, the welding work on this is...it's,,," she paused as she searched for her words, "Well, it's just-it's absolutely pristine! You can barely tell you welded this at all!" She exclaimed as she turned to him, holding out the piece in his direction.

Gohan rubbed the back of his head as he let out a chuckle. "Why do you think it's so hot in here? I had to make sure it was done right." He smiled.

Bulma's smile slowly slipped off of her face. She took the moment to watch Gohan, his hand behind his head, his smile, and his overall posture…

She let her mind wonder as her lips quirked into a smile filled with sweet sorrow. Her eyes glazed over with images of a spiky, black haired man with similar mannerisms, laughing. A dark haired woman who scowled at him stood next to him. However, her glare didn't last long as she gave way into a soft smile and girlish giggles.

"...ma?" a distant voice sounded.

The two figures in her vision embraced each other, the woman wrapping her arms around the man's middle, while the man settled and arm around her slender shoulders. They looked at each other with so much love. The people started to laugh again as they turned to look at her.

"...ou alright?" she heard the voice again.

Bulma closed her eyes as they filled with fresh tears. She was filled with sorrow as memories of a happier time flitted underneath her lids.

"Bulma!"

Bulma opened her eyes, blinking back tears that threatened to escape them, and sucked in a breath. She shook her head to rid herself of any sad thoughts or memories that lingered in her mind. She noticed that Gohan's face had become serious and filled with concern; the complete opposite of what had triggered her memories.

"What?" She muttered as she let out the breath she was holding and pulled her lips together, rubbing them.

Gohan's brows creased a bit closer together as her replied, "I just asked if you were alright." he stated hesitantly.

Bulma blinked again. A soft smile crossed her lips as memories dipped themselves into the forefront of her mind again. She lifted her hand up to rest against his cheek, caressing his gently. She took a short breath before saying, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just-" she paused and took a deep breath. She let it out and stated, "You look so like your father." she paused again, letting her statement linger in the air before continuing, "That's what I was thinking."

"Hmm…" He hummed in disinterest, never breaking eye contact. Her thumb softly brushed against his cheek, back and forth, a couple of times.

Bulma allowed her smile to fade, her face pinched, as no other words were offered in reaction to her statement. She felt sympathy bite at the edges of her heart as she gazed at her best friend's son. Bulma let her arm fall to her side.

Gohan broke eye contact and moved passed the woman he had known most of his life to busy himself with cleaning his workspace.

Bulma watched him as he did so, her shoulders sagging slightly. She knew that the topic of his parents, specifically his father, was a very sensitive subject. She watched as he carried out his meaningless tasks, thinking again about how he had accomplished something, that she, a renown inventor and well respected scientist, could not. She was in awe of his knowledge and skill; especially for his age. She had always been in awe when he displayed his knowledge or skill.

The silence that had befallen them was broken as she stated, "Your parents would be very proud of you."

There was a hiccup in Gohan's movements, one which he was quick to cover up as he stumbled slightly, as he hummed in disagreement, refusing to meet her eyes.

"They would." She reaffirmed in response to his reaction.

He said nothing back. She stood, watching him even after he had finished his tasks. She opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a purple and green blur running into the room.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! I fixed 'im!" The child proudly proclaimed as he held out his teddy bear to his mother.

The bear itself looked like it had seen better days. Its brown fur was coated with multiple stains of who knew what, most of which were lost to time. One of its black eyes were missing, the stuffing poking its way through the hole. There were stitches where multiple limbs had been lost, including one ear, half an arm, and a newly refurbished leg. It was obvious that the purple haired child had tried to do the stitching himself.

Bulma blinked and looked at the teddy bear she had come to dub as 'Amp' -short for amputee- because of the multiple limbs that had threatened to be lost if not for her stitch work. Her son, however, likes to remind her that its name is Stumpy because he claims it had lost its limbs fighting in a war and deserved a cool name. She smiled and shook her head at her son's imagination.

Fought in a war, indeed.

Bulma put a hand on top of her son's head and ruffled his hair.

"Mom." He whined as he lifted his arm to swipe his mother's hand away.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "That's very nice work, Trunks, but why don't I take good ol' Amp-"

"Stumpy" Trunks interrupted in an exasperated sing-songy voice.

Bulma sighed before correcting herself. "Stumpy. Why Don't I take Stumpy and give 'im a once over, eh?" She winked at Trunks, reaching for the bear. "Just in case he gets an infection in that nasty wound." She really just wanted to fix Trunks' horrid stitch job; though, she would never tell him that.

Trunks examined his bear as he contemplated his mother's words. Bulma flicked her eyes to the older boy in the room who was standing stock still with his back to her. She frowned slightly at his attitude.

Her son brought her attention back to him as he stated, "Okay, but let me show Gohan first 'kay?"

Without waiting for an answer from her, he skipped towards the other boy, the teddy bear's gimp leg gripped tightly in his fist. Bulma sighed and stood, putting a fist on her hip, letting her other arm hang limply by her side, and watched as the two interacted. Trunks came to a stop behind Gohan and, smiling, presented his teddy bear to Gohan's back.

"Look Gohan!" He demanded.

Without turning to face the child, Gohan stated, "Go let your mother fix it before you ruin it again."

Ignoring the older boy's dismissive, Trunks stated, "But look Gohan! Look at what a good job I did!" Trunks shook the bear by its leg towards Gohan's direction as emphasis.

Gohan turned his head to stare at the child from the corner of his eyes. His eyes flicked briefly over the bear held in Trunks' hand before he addressed the kid again, "You're going to undo the stitches you've made if you keep shaking it around like that. You don't want to ruin it, do you?"

Trunks, feeling slightly putout, lowered his arm. The leg of the bear still in his fist and its head touching the ground. At Gohan's question, Trunks shook his head.

At the purple haired child's response in the negative, Gohan turned his head again to face forward. "Then go give it to your mother before I have to hear you whine about how it has been ruined again." He stated.

The smile that had previously been on young Trunks' face completely vanished as his faced pinched into one of hurt. His aquamarine eyes darkened a few shades. He sighed and let his shoulders sag as he averted his gaze to the white tiled floor.

Bulma scowled fiercely at Gohan's back; her eyebrows lowered over her eyes and her jaw jutted and tightened as her lips rolled into a fine line. Both of her fists tightened. Her posture was reminiscent of a black haired woman who was recently in the forefront of her mind. Nothing gave him the right to be so mean and rude to her son. He needed a reality check.

However, her face strained to relax as her son turned and walked back to her. Without raising his gaze to meet hers, Trunks dejectedly held out the teddy bear to his mother. Bulma kneeled and put both of her hands on each of his shoulders. She smiled softly.

Bulma took a breath and said, "Why don't _you_ take Stumpy to my room, and wait for me there? Hm? Does that sound like a good idea?" She asked.

Trunks shrugged as he pulled his own lips into a line and, pouting, met her gaze solemnly. Her nostrils flared at the action. Gohan was going to get a mouth full later.

"Why don't you do that, okay? Wait for me there?" She asked.

Again, he shrugged and then nodded to his mother. He then turned and walked out of the room, his teddy bear dragging on the floor as he went.

After he left Bulma turned to Gohan putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly, ready to give her best friend's son a good reprimand. She took a deep breath, but sighed instead deciding to save it for later. She turned to follow her son, but stopped right before she crossed the threshold of the door and stated, "You really didn't have to be such a jerk to him ya'know." She stood for a few seconds, glaring at him, before finally turning and leaving the room.

Gohan watched her go in silence. He let his head hang for a few seconds while he ran a hand through his hair. He walked to his stereo and turned the music back on. He then turned to set himself up on another task, but stopped almost immediately when a voice came on over the speakers.

"We interrupt this program for a very important announcement…"

DBZ

The man in orange frowned and stopped mid-punch. He found that he was starting to do this more often over the years. The first time he had felt like this was shortly after his death. The next time he felt this strange was right after he had one again gotten acquainted with his long time friends. He furrows his brows. He has no idea what had caused this...this feeling he gets, but he knows he doesn't like it. It makes him really ansty for something he somehow knows he can't get. He stands up straight, frown still on his face.

"Goku?" His best friend, Krillin, says to him, concern lacing his voice.

Goku's other friends, who had been watching their spar on the sidelines, stood and approached as well; all except Piccolo and Vegeta, who chose to keep their distance and wait for the fighting to begin again. Among them were also the Grand Kai and King Kai. Goku's brows sunk lower on his forehead as he ran a hand through his spiky, gravity defying black hair and let out a hum of frustration.

"Is it that feeling again? The one you say happens occasionally?" Tien asked as he put a hand on the orange clad shoulder.

"Yeah." Goku huffed. "I can't figure out why it's happenin' and it's becoming frustrating."

Vegeta, who had been surprisingly quiet for an extended amount of time, humphed out a laugh at this. Most turned to scowl at him, some choosing to ignore him in favor of their friend. Vegeta stood from his leant position against a tree and walked towards them.

Vegeta had joined them all on the Grand Kai's planet shortly after his death, which had surprised everyone. King Yemma had asked him to spend a short stint of time in Hell and then was granted a stay in upper heaven with them for the rest of his after life. Even though he had stayed with them for almost a year, and for many years when they had all been alive, the group never got over his attitude.

"Got something to say Vegeta?" Yamcha bravely asked.

Vegeta smirked and looked Goku directly in the eyes. He crossed his arms and stated, "If you haven't figured this out what this is by now, then you must suffer from more brain damage than I originally thought, Kakarot." His smirk grew as the others growled at him, standing slightly in front of Goku, ready to defend him if necessary, their fists clenched in anger at the prince.

Goku stepped forward approaching the other saiyan, while gently brushing his friends to the side. He then addressed the Saiyan Prince, "What do you mean, Vegeta? What are you talkin' about?"

Vegeta's smirk slipped off of his face and was replaced by a serious frown. "You really don't know anything about your heritage do you?" He paused, waiting for a response from the other saiyan before he growled in frustration and continued, "During the time of my father on planet Vegeta, before it was under the control of Frieza's rule, we believed in being involved in a full, rounded culture. We delved in things like music and art. We lived by stories being told to the younger generation about those who had come before us. The royal palace walls were decorated with paintings of the super saiyan legend, as well as our most ancient mythos." He paused and tilted his head back to gaze at the pink sky, his eyes glazing over. Everyone else listened with uncertainty and interest.

"One of the things we valued most was family; especially Saiyan cubs. There was a point in time where we respected the innocence of a Saiyan child, much like you humans do. That was one thing we hated about being a part of Frieza's empire; being a warrior race like we are, he demanded that we send out as many people as possible on missions for him.

"Eventually, he started ordering the cubs to go on missions; even the ones that were born only days before. This angered many of our people, but being under his control we could not do anything about it. After some time, our culture became monochromatic and we only cared about one thing; fighting." Vegeta lowered his gaze to look again at Goku.

"However, there was one thing that he could not stomp out of us. And that is our primal instincts. Our instinct to fight, to survive, and our basic and most primal instinct; to help our children survive."

At this, Goku's back straightened. Vegeta's eyes narrowed at the action. ' _Just as I thought.'_ He thought to himself.

"My father never let me forget that fact." He paused to let the information sink in, then continued, "This feeling you have, it's part of a primal instinct all Saiyans have. It means that your cub is in danger."

Goku's face contorted into one of concern as he quietly muttered, "Gohan?"

Piccolo's eyebrow twitched at the sound of his pupils name. He opened his eyes and stood from his meditative position. As soon as his feet softly hit the green grass, he stalked closer to the group so he could pay closer attention to what was being said. He stopped a few feet behind Vegeta and crossed his arms.

Ignoring him, Vegeta spoke, "However, you can get this feeling when your cub is in emotional distress as well as physically in danger." He scoffed, "It's never specific." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms against his chest while averting his gaze to the ground.

Goku took a few hesitant steps forward, his head angled slightly towards the ground, as if he were a child afraid of being reprimanded by his parent, until he was in between his group of friends and Vegeta. "Do...do you...feel it too?" he asked shyly.

Vegeta flicked his eyes to the blue and orange clad saiyan warrior before him, his battle hardened onyx eyes pinning the other saiyan with an intense gaze. He inclined his head slightly and took a breath before answering, his voice surprisingly soft. "I do."

Goku took a full breath, his lungs filling with oxygen and forcing his back to straighten out. "How do you deal with it?" He asked, allowing the air he sucked in to flow from his mouth.

"I don't" He replied. At Goku's confused look he continued, "There isn't a way to suppress the feeling if that's what you're after. You just have to deal with it."

That's when the Grand Kai decided to step into the conversation. He stepped forward to gain everyone's attention. His face became grim as he folded his hands behind his back. "I believe it's time for us to see what our friend has endured over the years." He stated.

"You mean Gohan?" Goku asked in mild interest. In response, the Grand Kai nodded. "But how?"

"Not here. Too many could be listening." He replied. He jutted his head in the direction of his mansion and turned to walk away, signaling for the others to follow. One of Goku's eyebrows raised and he scratched his cheek with his index finger while he hummed in question at the Grand Kai's odd behavior. The others exchanged looks. Then, coming to a silent consensus, they all followed the Kai.

The Grand Kai led them to the backyard of his mansion, a place where almost no one has been before. Those privileged enough to stand in the Grand Kai's backyard can be counted on one hand, not including the other Kais below him.

The grass was a brilliant green, just like the rest of the planet. The mansion's wings bordered the yard, allowing one side to be completely open. In the middle there was a three tier water fountain with four spouts flowing with crystalline water that sparkled in the sunlight. It was surrounded by a circle of cobblestone which had four cobblestone paths sprouting from it. Three of the paths led to each wing of the mansion while the fourth led to another path that wrapped around to the front of the mansion to converge with the main pathway that led up to the mansion.

The Grand Kai turned, hands still behind his back, and eyed each person behind the lenses of his red rimmed sunglasses. He then looked around with his head and said, "Well, this is as private as we gon' get."

"Privacy for what?" Piccolo spoke up for the first time. He's usually the first to voice his suspicions.

The Grand Kai answered him, annunciating each word, "I am goin' to allow you," he gestured to the group, "to do somethin' that isn't," he paused, squinted his eyes, pursed his lips, and then clicked his tongue before continuing, "well, it's not typically allowed."

Vegeta's eye twitched. "Stop kicking around the bush and spit it out old man!" He exclaimed while clenching his fists. Vegeta was usually the one who voiced frustration first. Everyone had gotten used to his not so up to code attitude and rude mannerisms.

The Grand Kai had learned quickly not to try to correct the Saiyan Prince, and even more quickly not to anger him; and so he continued, "I am going to you to get a first hand experience in the going on's down on Earth." He punctuated his sentence by bringing his hands in front of him and clapping them together once, giving them a tight smile, before folding them and letting them drop to his sides.

"What do you mean?" Vegeta snapped when it seemed no one else would say anything, "With how strong the boy is, I thought he would have dealt with those tin-cans by now."

King Kai stepped forward, sweat dripping down his blue forehead as he addressed the prince, "You are gravely underestimating the androids power, Vegeta." He paused to dab at his forehead with a rag before continuing, "Those two are deadly individually, but even more so when they work together.

"I've been secretly watching the Earth for a while now and while Gohan is very strong, especially for his age, he is barely a match for even one of the androids. If one of you had survived, then he would have had a better chance at defeating them." King Kai explained somberly.

The Grand Kai brought a fist up to cough into it, clearing his throat while also disrupting the heavy atmosphere that hung over the group. He then gestured to King Kai. "If you would, King Kai."

"Right" King Kai also cleared his throat, more out of nervousness than anything else. "You all will get a front row seat, for a lack of a better phrase, to life on Earth right now. We are hoping to-" He was interrupted by the Grand Kai coughing quite loudly. He gave the blue skinned Kai a severe look.

King Kai laughed nervously and rubbed the sweat that started to roll down his cheek off with a rag. After composing himself, King Kai continued, "We are going to send you to Earth and when you get there, you will have your spiritual bodies. No one will be able to see or hear you. You will essentially be ghosts."

His face became serious as he looked each fighter in the eye. "You are able to interact with the people and events that go on down there, however!" He exclaimed when he noticed some of the fighters fidget in excitement.

He held up an index finger in warning again gaining their attention, "however," he continued, "I urge you, and warn you, not to interact with anything in the physical world. Because if you do," He pushed his black round rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, "you will not be able to come back to the other world."

The group of fighters looked down at the short Kai with sharp looks, almost in disbelief. "You will be forever banished to the physical world." He emphasised. "And without the protection of the upper world, eventually, your spiritual bodies will disintegrate and your spirits will be lost forever."

After a moment, Goku stepped forward and clenched his fist, a look of determination crossing over his face. He nodded and said, "Okay. I'm ready."

The others, except Vegeta and Piccolo, stumbled back in surprise.

"You're crazy Goku! You'll be completely powerless!" Krillin exclaimed.

"That's the point." The Grand Kai interjected before Goku could respond. "You are meant to feel that way."

"But-but-but-but why?" Yamcha stuttered.

Ignoring him, the Grand Kai looked to King Kai and nodded. King Kai nodded back, understanding his intentions. He then turned his attention to each fighter there. "It's time to go. Are you all ready?" After receiving multiple, some hesitant, nods, King Kai turned his attention back to the Grand Kai, as did everyone else.

The Grand Kai then thrust his hands out toward the group, palms flat and fingers spread. The world seemed to spin and darken. The Grand Kai's words seemed to come from a distance, "When you wake, you will be on Earth. Good luck to you." Then everything went black.

They heard remnants of a conversation and then silence. After a few seconds, the blackness started to fade and they were able to see. They were in what seemed to be a blindingly white room. Other than their group, there were two other figures in the room.

The blue haired woman, who obviously had to be Bulma, hadn't changed at all. The second figure, however, really caught their attention. Almost none of them recognized him. Goku stepped forward and reached out to touch him, however only let his hand linger in the air, remembering King Kai's words. "Gohan." He exhaled in amazement.

He looked so different, changed so much from when he was a child. Goku pulled his hand back, feeling a strong longing to run his hand through his son's hair and pull him into a hug. Along with this, the feeling he had experienced in other world was intensified as he stood next to his son, unable to comfort the hurt he was feeling. Goku stepped back towards his friends to ease the feeling a bit.

A sigh from Bulma tore his attention away from his son and to her. She turned to walk out of the room, but paused and said, "You really didn't have to be such a jerk to him ya'know." Then she was gone.

The group turned to look at Gohan as he stared after her. Goku frowned as the feeling intensified again. Hurt was coming to him in waves. His son was hurting, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was never good with emotions anyhow. His frown deepened and he gently bit at his lower lip. What had happened here?

Gohan sighed and ran a hand through his hair before turning up his music and turning to busy himself with something. However, before he could get anything started, a voice on the radio caught their attention.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a very important announcement! The androids have been reported to be attacking Ginger Town. I repeat: the androids are attacking Ginger Town!"

Gohan ignored the rest of the announcement. He walked over to a map hanging on the wall, rubbing his chin, and muttered, "Ginger Town, huh? That's not too far from here." he paused and turned his attention to the door where Bulma and Trunks had disappeared through just a few minutes earlier. "I don't think I'll be wanted around here for a while, so I might as well go check it out. "

Gohan sighed and whipped off his gloves and strode out of the room, the others becoming his invisible entourage.

Gohan ran to the nearest window, jumped out of it and into the air, the others following him silently. The smell of fire and the sight of smoke reached them long before the outskirts of the city did.

Reaching for his right wrist, Gohan pressed a button on his wristband and his clothes changed from his wife beater and jeans to an orange and blue gi; one that was identical to the one his late father wore, except his navy blue sleeves reached down to his elbows.

Witnessing the change, Goku smiled with pride; however, the pride was quickly overshadowed by sorrow.

Goku fisted his gi top, clenching at his chest as his heart was engulfed in a type of fierce pressure that threatened to suffocate him. His eyebrows hung low over his eyes and he watched his son's face become hard and closed off as they neared the city of Ginger Town.

As if reading his thoughts, Krillin sped up next to him, gaining Goku's attention. As he stared at his friends trouble face, Krillin reached up and put a hand on Goku's shoulder with a small nod, giving Goku silent reassurance.

Goku gave his friend a strained smile as thanks. As Krillin turned away from him so to did Goku. He removed his hand from his chest, took a refreshing breath, and focused on the situation ahead; they had finally hit the city limits.

Gohan slowed to a stop above the heart of the city and slowly descended. His feet hit the shattered concrete with a soft thud. He stood and looked at his surroundings; the still fresh fires burned hot and bright around him. The few buildings that managed to survive the android's attack, burned and cracked under the pressure. The sky had blackened with smoke, making the once bright city even more dark and dreary. Ash and cinder rained down from the sky and lightly dusted the ground.

Gohan listened for any sounds to indicate life; he found none. Only the sounds of the crackling fire and crumbling buildings filled his sensitive ears. No life remained.

"Woah." Yamcha huffed out in morbid amazement as he took everything in. He slowly turned in a three step circle, trying to drink in as much as he could, as if he didn't want to miss a single detail.

Tien's arms hung limply by his sides as he craned his neck to look up into the sky as smoke continued to fill it.

Krillin stood, hand clenched into fists, his head angle downward, his eyes downcast and misty.

Vegeta stood strong, arms crossed against his chest, eyes closed, and brows furrowed.

Piccolo stared blankly into the fire, the bright light it gave lighting up his dark pupils and accenting the shadows on his grim face.

Goku took a brief second to look at his surroundings before locking eyes with his son's back. His body felt heavy as he once again looked around, catching sight of each of his friend's visage, before filling his lungs with much needed air and only inhaling the thick and suffocating stench of smoke. The smoke permeated and stuck to the insides of his lungs. He breathed out slowly, coughing softly, and deemed to take shallow breaths.

Gohan was also careful not to breathe too deeply; having been in this situation before. Scanning his eyes over the landscape again, Gohan paused as he thought he spotted a figure not too far away. As he walked towards it, he felt his stomach drop.

Before he could react further, Gohan stopped in his tracks as his foot stepped on something soft; too soft to be concrete. Looking down, he lifted his foot and spotted a small teddy bear. He crouched to inspect it, his eyes shimmering slightly with the fire.

It was the same teddy bear that Trunks owned, the same one Trunks had tried to show him earlier.

The fur of the teddy bear was spotted with dark splotches of blood, much of its body blackened with ash, and it's left leg smouldering.

Red flashed across his vision. Gohan flicked his eyes to blood that coated the ground, near the bear, and followed its path with his eyes. His eyes landed on the figure he had spotted earlier. Gohan stood and continued his trek. He stopped in front of the body and tilted his head downward to look at it.

Below him, lying on the ground, was the body of a little girl. Her brunette hair in high pigtails, her yellow sundress decorated morbidly with blood that did not seem to be her own. Her face was streaked black as if someone, or the girl herself, had tried to wipe ashes off of her face; a vain attempt since ash now settled in a light layer over her body. Dried tear tracks lined her cheeks and, as Gohan lightly touched them, found that her cheeks were still flush and slightly warm as well. She had not died long ago.

He wondered what had happened to the girl. She looked to be about Trunks' age. Suddenly, his mind replaced the little girl's body with Trunks' own. Gohan's eyes watered as guilt at his previous behavior slowly inched its way into his heart.

The little girl was hardly old enough to be around here alone. He would never have left Trunks here alone.

Gohan noticed that her arm was stretched out towards the fallen teddy bear. He flicked his eyes to said object. It must have been hers. He drew his eyes back to the girls body.

' _It doesn't look like she suffered a fatal wound.'_ He thought to himself as he crouched down and brushed a few stray hairs from her face. ' _This blood isn't hers.'_ He brought his hand back to rest on his knee as he studied her face. After a long moment, he lifted his chin slightly in realization. ' _She suffocated.'_

She died alone.

That thought stuck out above the rest. He couldn't help but focus on it. It's how he imagined his own death would be.

Gohan wondered at that moment about the girl's family. Did she have family? Where were they? Were they alive? Did she watch them die?

The thought sobered him up as his eyes filled with visions of his own parents deaths, which were immediately followed by visions of his friends dying. Gohan shut his eyes to shield himself from the onslaught of painful memories, but his mind was stubborn and he continued to relive their deaths quietly in his mind; just as he had the day they died.

He refused to cry, even when they flooded his eyes and threatened to spill out from under his closed eyelids. When he felt his tears recede slightly, he opened his eyes and swallowed convulsively at the uncomfortable feeling that still resided within his chest.

"How could the androids do this?" Krillin whispered quietly through the air, breaking the heavy silence. "I mean...I just…" He exhaled heavily. "Why?" he asked no one in particular, unable to come to terms with what he was seeing.

No one else said a word after that, but nothing needed to be said. They all understood the seriousness of the world they had willingly walked into. They were all silent as they each processed the situation at a different pace.

Gohan took a deep, shaky breath to release the tension in his body and to purge himself of he suffocating emotions that tried to overwhelm him. Then, his sensitive ears caught the sound of shifting concrete.

Instantly Gohan was on edge. He looked toward the location of where he thought the sound had originated from, but nothing sounded from the area again. He flicked his eyes back and forth across the landscape waiting for an indication that he was not alone. He continued this pattern for a few cautious moments.

Just as he was about to relax, a disembodied voice sounded through the area, "Look who it is, Eighteen."

"It's our favorite...friend." Another voice replied, this one female. Their voices echoed across the landscape.

This made it hard for Gohan to pinpoint their location. His eyes scanned the area in an attempt to spot them before they could attack him, but was unsuccessful.

The heat and roar of the flames expanded before they exploded, reaching new heights and disrupting the layer of ash and cinders that coated the ground. The heat and intensity caused Gohan to cross his arms over his face to shield himself from the soft, but hot, debree.

After the wind had settled from the explosion, the flames slowly die down to low embers, revealing the android duo.

They stood, perched on a pile of rubble, angled towards each other and looking down at Gohan; Eighteen stood on the right with her arms crossed against her chest and Seventeen, who stood on the left, had placed both hands on his hips. Both twins had smirks on their faces as Gohan turned to face them.

"What do you say we kill him this time?" Eighteen asked, her eyes still focused on Gohan.

Seventeen shrugged his shoulders in response. Bending his elbows and turning his palms to the sky, "Fine by me." He replied nonchalantly.

Eighteen let her arms fall to her sides and turned her heat toward her brother, her shoulder length blonde hair swaying slightly. "And if he should somehow survive?" she asked with an edge to her voice.

"It's really not a problem either way." When his sister growled slightly in irritation, the smirk slipping from her face, Seventeen sighed and in equal irritation, "Look...if he survives, then he poses as entertainment for another day and if he should die, then we get the satisfaction of seeing the look on his face when we finally kill him."

Satisfied with the answer, the smirk returned to Eighteen's face. Then she turned to fully face Gohan, her brother mirroring her actions. The light of the fire danced across their faces, accenting the shadows and allowing their lifeless eyes to stand out.

"Those are the androids?" Goku asked, having died from a heart virus six months before the androids made their first appearance.

Piccolo was the one to respond, "We only got to see them very briefly, but yes. Those are the androids."

"They look like a couple of kids. They couldn't be much older than Gohan." Goku replied.

They may not look like much, but believe me when I tell you they are not to be underestimated. Their power is superb, but since they don't have their own energy signature it's hard to tell how powerful these androids really are."

Goku nodded and swallowed. "I noticed." He focused his gaze of his son before flicking his eyes back up to the android duo. "Ehehe...they look terrifying." He stated. No one responded to his statement.

Gohan swallowed nervously as the sight left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and sunk down into a fighting stance. He was determined not to let his nervousness show. He eyed each android carefully, dark eyes meeting icy cold blue ones. He held their gaze. His body tensed as in preparation for a fight. Each muscle in his body tingled with anticipation as he waited for the duo to make the first move.

Together, Android's Seventeen and Eighteen lifted from their perch and slowly descended to the ground. Moving in sync, as soon as their feet touched the cracked pavement, they dropped into mirroring fighting stances. Their emotionless eyes trained on Gohan's form in cold calculation, betraying the malicious smirks that adorned their faces. Then, almost mockingly, they each stood and started to calmly walk towards him.

Gohan frowned, feeling irked at the notion. He blinked and they were gone. He put up his guard just in time to receive a strike from behind.

He lifted up both arms to block each androids legs as they shot out to connect with his head. He pushed their legs away, knocking them both slightly off balance, and backflipped away from them to gain some distance.

The android duo pursued him, arms pulled back in preparation for a punch. As soon as his feet touched the ground again, Gohan crossed his arms in front of his face catching a fist from both androids in each palm of his hands. Powering up slightly with a yell, Gohan uncrossed his arms and threw the androids away from him causing them to crash into the surrounding buildings. Dust filled the air as the walls caved in from the force of their bodies.

After the dust began to settle again, the androids emerged from the debree. They stood for a few seconds, as if silently communicating with each other, as they stared down their prey with murderous intent.

Gohan crouched, adjusting his fighting stance with both arms to either side of his head. He watched each android out of the corner of his eyes, waiting to see who would attack first. As he shifted his eyes over to android Eighteen, who was to his left, rubble shifted as Seventeen moved to attack his right.

Gohan turned his full attention to Seventeen, blocking each blow that was sent at him, unable to go on the offensive. That was when Eighteen moved to attack. Gohan's mind and fighting style shifted slightly to accommodate for Eighteen's presence. Gohan lost focus on the fight as he tried to strategize a counter attack.

Taking advantage of Gohan's lapse in concentration, Seventeen whipped his legs out and connected it with Gohan's side.

Gohan was sure he heard a few ribs crack, but had no time to register the pain as Eighteen followed up her brother's attack. With a fist to fer palm and elbow outstretched, she connected her attack with the nape of his neck.

Seventeen attacked again before he could recover, and crouched to deliver an elbow to Gohan's stomach while Eighteen finished the combo with a kick, the heel of her foot connecting with his temple.

Gohan was thrown through the air with the force of the kick, pain emanating from his ribs and head. Because he was unable to recover fast enough, his body hurtled into the already broken blacktop and skid across it for a few meters, his skin becoming littered with minor scratches. When he finally came to a stop, Gohan laid on the ground, allowing his body time to rest. He did not get long though as he felt the unnatural heat of energy approaching.

Gohan sucked in a quick breath, filling his lungs, before flinging his feet into the air to perform a backflip. As soon as his toes made contact with the ground, Gohan jumped to the side quickly to avoid the ki blasts meant for him.

The blasts exploded against the tar, the force pushing Gohan forward and knocking him off balance. He put his arm out in front of him to catch himself. With his hands flat against the warm pavement, Gohan rolled himself to the side just in time to avoid an attack from Eighteen.

She growled as her face contorted into an ugly snarl; her foot had embedded itself in the concrete.

As he got to his feet, Gohan quickly sidestepped an attack from Seventeen and shot out a fist which connected with the dark haired android's side. Seventeen stumbled backwards in surprise from his attack. Pulling back, Gohan grounded himself in a defensive fighting stance.

Seventeen stood up straight and rubbed his side as his sister came to stand beside him. Eighteen eyed her brother out of the corner of her eye. She huffed in amusement at his actions.

"You actually allowed one of his strikes to land?" She asked in a teasing manner.

Seventeen growled at her. "Shut up!" He yelled in humiliation.

"Why?" She pressed, "I'm not the one who let this worthless nothing," she jutted her thumb towards Gohan, "hit me." She finished with a satisfied smirk and a click of her tongue.

A look of rage passed over Seventeen's face at her statement. Then, just as quickly as the rage had come, it was gone and his face strangely blank as he stared at Gohan.

Gohan's eyebrow twitched as he felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. He watched the android warily.

"Ya'know what?" The android stated, each word dripping with acid. Seventeen took a deep breath and screamed. His power exploded from his body, the dust and wind whipped around from the force.

Gohan tried to keep his stance, but failed and had to stumble to keep his balance. He crossed his arms in front of his face to protect it from flying debris. He tried as hard as he could to stay put, but in vain as it seemed his feet started to slide inch by inch across the concrete.

Goku and company was also startled by the force of the android's power, most stumbled backward because they were unprepared for the outburst. Goku copied his son's actions and shielded his face while grunting from the force.

Finally, the wind died down and Gohan dropped his arms. Android Seventeen's arms hung limply at his sides while his head was angled downwards, his hair covered his face. "You know what?" He repeated more calmly this time. Then he brought his head up, lilted it to the side, and angled his chin up, a look of sadistic glee shown across his face. "I know how I want to kill you."

The android phazed out of existence before reappearing in front of Gohan, his fist planted deeply in the Saiyan's stomach before he could react. Seventeen gripped Gohan's shoulder to whisper harshly in his ear, "And I am going to make sure I enjoy it."

Gohan's blood froze in his veins in terror. Reacting quickly, Gohan brought up his arms in between the ones that rested on his shoulders and knocked them away. He followed up with a backflip, his foot connecting with the underside of the android's chin. The android shifted a few feet back from the blow. Gohan took that chance and powered up. The familiar golden glow of hi aura spread a familiar warmth through his body. His hair exploded into a golden color, similar to his aura, as his eyes changed from deep brown to a bright turquoise. He scowled and got back into a fighting stance.

Goku's eyes widened as Krillin exclaimed what was on everyone's minds, "Woah! Gohan's a super saiyan?!"

"And at his age." Piccolo stated in amazement.

Android Seventeen had stood and waited for him to finish powering up, staring at him with an intense, emotionless gaze. His face betraying his eyes as his mouth twisted into an excited, sadistic smile. "Good!" He yelled, "It's no fun if you don't fight back!"

He pivoted to address his sister who had not moved during the exchange. "Stay out of this Eighteen. The punk is mine."

Eighteen shrugged her shoulders in the same nonchalant way her brother had before. She turned and settled herself on the remnants of a building. She sat with her knees bent and her elbow resting on one knee, her chin sitting on the heel of her palm and her finger resting lazily across her cheek in a bored fashion.

Seventeen watched his sister sit and settle, making sure she kept good on her promise, before turning to look back at Gohan. Then he charged.

Gohan narrowed his eyes. This time, Gohan was ready for him. Gohan pulled back a fist, just as Seventeen did, and their fists met. They glared at each other, and let loose.

Fist me fist, knee met knee, elbow met elbow; each blow was block by the opponent's same appendage. Their fists became blurs as attacks were sent out before the last one had finished its course.

Seventeen was the first to break the stalemate as he jumped back and then propelled himself forward again, landing a punch in Gohan's sternum.

Gohan flew back through several buildings and Seventeen followed his path. His back bounced off another wall, but before he could collide with the ground Seventeen wrapped his fingers tightly around Gohan's neck and slammed him back against the wall, causing small spider webbed choked out a gasp and raised an arm up to grip Seventeens wrist.

"Would you like to hear how I'm going to kill you?" Seventeen asked unessiccarily. Gohan brought up his other arm to grip more firmly at Seventeen's wris. His eyes watered as his lungs started to burn.

"I haven't thought through all of the details, but I have a few ideas of what I'd like to do." Seventeen continued, ignoring Gohan's struggles. "I thought I'd start by beating you until you're black and blue, because that's always fun." He tightened his grip on Gohan's neck and he let out another pitiful gasp. He then continued nonchalantly, "Then I'll have Eighteen hold you down as I kill you as slowly and as painfully as possible."

Gohan clawed desperately at the android's arm as darkness started encroaching his vision. He saw android Seventeen smirk through his hazy eyesight. "You better hurry or you'll choke to death, and that's just no fun."

In a last desperate assault, Gohan tightened his grip on Seventeen's arm and brought up his legs and kicked out with as much force as he could muster.

Seventeen stumbled back and Gohan dropped to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. He lightly massaged his neck to ease the throbbing pain.

Seventeen watched as he recovered much needed oxygen. He chuckled. "I've forgotten just how much I love to watch you suffer." He walked up to Gohan just as he was getting to his knees and planted his knee in Gohan's abdomen, causing the saiyan to spit up blood from the force.

Severely stunned from the blow, Gohan leaned onto Seventeen's still elevated knee and wrapped his arms around his ribs, gritting his teeth, and hissing in pain.

"Humans are fun to hunt and all, but even that gets boring sometimes. They just don't pose a challenge. You however..." He fisted a few locks of Gohan's hair and lifted his head.

Gohan cracked an eye open to look at him. Seventeen outright laughed at this point while continuing his earlier statement, "Despite failure after failure after failure to defeat us you just keep coming back! And everytime you do, you always say how you're going to defeat us. I mean come on...really?!" He paused and brought Gohan up by his hair to meet his gaze. "How many years have we been at this Gohan? Hm? Going on six years now right? And you still haven't got it through your thick head that it's useless." He sighed and got an almost soft look on his face.

"I guess I'll just have to beat it into you." With that, Seventeen pulled back his fist, the other still gripping Gohan's hair, and punched Gohan in the face.

Blood seeped from Gohan's now broken nose and dripped onto the ground. Seventeen pulled back his fist, and again punched Gohan in the face. Gohan felt another bone crack under the pressure of the blow.

This time, Seventeen threw Gohan's body into the air above them and fired multiple ki blasts. Gohan felt like a rag doll being tossed around as he felt the ki blasts explode against his skin.

Seventeen paused in his ki blast assault and soared into the air, rising above Gohan. Once he felt he was high enough Seventeen started his descent, gaining as much speed as possible. He straightened his legs and drove them as hard as he could into Gohan's abdomen.

Gohan, who had not recovered from the last attack, was unable to protect himself as Seventeen's feet dug into his abused abdomen. Gohan was flug, hard and fast, toward the ground below. His body collided against the harsh concrete, causing a huge crater to form. Large cracks sprouted out from the edges of the crater and weak buildings crumbled. Gohan sat in the crater, his body bleeding from several spots now. He panted heavily, gathering as much strength as he could muster to get up.

Seventeen witnessed his descent and chuckled with glee. Then, he brought his hands together and gathered as much energy as he dared; he didn't want Gohan to die yet after all. A huge yellow ki blast started to form in his hand. As it grew, the center contorted into an ugly brown color.

Goku and the others watched on in morbid horror as they watched the android gather energy.

"Not even a super saiyan is enough to defeat these androids?" Tien cried out, terror lacing his voice.

Goku ignored them. His eyes were focused solely on his son. "Get up Gohan." He chanted quietly. "Get up." Goku flicked his eyes up to the android and eyed the ever growing ball in his hands. "Get up, Gohan." He chanted louder. "Come on. Get up." He looked back down at his son, who had still not moved from his earlier position.

Goku could feel his breath quicken as panic edged its way into his body. "Get up Gohan!" He practically screamed. "Get up now!" He looked back up at the menacing ball of energy that was sure to mutilate his son, if it didn't kill him. "Please." He added in a whisper.

Seventeen launched his massive attack with a yell. It started to move slowly at first, but eventually started gaining some speed.

Gohan managed to prop himself on his elbows, his blonde hair covered in a light layer of dust and drops of blood, and tilted his head up towards the sky. His eyes widened in fear at the giant ball of deadly energy that was making its way towards him.

With a burst of adrenaline, Gohan flipped over onto his stomach, his hands flat against the ground, and, with as much energy as possible, he fired a small Kamehameha wave; propelling himself off the ground and guiding himself to the side, away from the large blast. However, he was not quick enough and was still caught in the massive explosion.

Gohan screamed as white hot searing pain ripped through his body.

Goku squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of his son's voice. When the light of the explosion faded from behind his eyelids, he opened them just in time to see Gohan bounce across the pavement, his limbs in disarray as they limply whipped about. His body landed and skid across the blacktop.

He did not get up.

He didn't even struggle for strength to get up.

He did not move.

The only signs of life in his body was the harsh way his shaky lungs took in breath and exhaled out, wheezing pathetically. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut and his face was contorted in a grimace of pain.

Goku moved to take a step towards his son, but stopped when android Seventeen emerged from the remaining smoke of the blast and walked slowly towards Gohan's limp body.

Seventeen reached out and grabbed the front of Gohan's gi top and violently lifted him up off of the ground, some of the material ripping slightly as he did so. He continued to punch Gohan in the ribs, shoulders, face, and abdomen for several minutes.

Eighteen, it seems, decided she had sat on the sidelines long enough. She stood from her spot and bellowed, "Hey! Don't kill him without me Seventeen!" She lifted off the ground and flew to their location just a few meters away.

Seventeen let go of Gohan, allowing him to fall to the ground, and held up his hands in a non-threatening way. "Why dear sister, I would never kill him without you."

Eighteen landed and put her hands on her hips, walking the rest of the way to him. "Yeah right. You were just about to kill him!" She accused.

He responded by chuckling and shrugging his shoulders. Then he said, "If it really means that much to you, then let kill together right now."

Eighteen scowled at him, "I thought you said you wanted him to survive."

"No," He corrected, "I said that it didn't matter to me."

Eighteen flipped her blonde hair back and folded her arms. "Whatever. Let's just finish this."

They turned their attention to Gohan. His body was beaten and broken and bleeding from many places.

Gohan cracked open one eye and peered at both androids through blurry vision, the only sign that he was still conscious. He exhaled sharply and closed his eye again. ' _So this is how it ends.'_

He couldn't help but laugh at the thought. So he was right after all. He would die alone. For some reason unknown to himself, he started to cry while he continued to laugh. Tears seeped from underneath his eyelids and poured down his cheeks, the ground below him soaking them up.

Seventeen reached down again to pick him up. "How shall we end it sis?"

"I don't know. We could just lay him down and fire a bunch of ki blasts."

"But that's so anticlimactic, plus I already did that." He responded.

"Then you come up with an idea." She refuted.

Seventeen put his hand to his chin, the other still holding Gohan, and his brows furrowed in concentrated thought. Then he gasped, eyes alit with excitement. He snapped his fingers and said, "I know! Let's tear him limb from limb until he begs for death."

Eighteen smiled sadistically. "That sounds good to me." She walked over to her brother and grabbed Gohan from him. She positioned him so that he was forced to stay on his knees his back to them.

"And you know what I think?" Seventeen asked his eyes never leaving Gohan's body. His sister hummed questioningly at him. "I think we should start with this arm." Seventeen grabbed Gohan's left arm and pulled it backwards, immediately pulling the appendage out of its socket.

Gohan's eyes shot open and he screamed. Seventeen continued to pull back, his face twisting into a look of malicious glee. Eighteen's face was strangely blank as she watched her brother. Seventeen pulled back even further, putting more of his body weight into the tug.

Gohan screamed louder as he felt his muscles ripping apart. Fresh tears sprang to his eyes as he cried out, his body shaking with pain and choked out sobs.

Seventeen laughed insanely at his reaction and continued to pull as hard as he could. Eighteen smirked and said, "I think you're having way too much fun with this."

"Just wait Eighteen." He responded, "When you get your turn, you'll understand." He emphasized his point by tugging again on Gohan's abused arm, causing him to scream again.

Eighteen just shook her head in amusement and chuckled, tightening her grip on Gohan as he lashed out.

His body seemed to move on its own. His mind was blank. The only thing he knew was desperation. He powered up into super saiyan and sprung forward with a yell, ignoring the protests of his friends. He pulled back his fist as he charged. Goku grounded himself in front of the android that could not see him, and let his fist loose.

Seventeen let go of Gohan's arm in surprise, his eyes wide, as he was flung backwards and away from his victim. Eighteen gasped and let go of Gohan, letting his body fall limply to the ground, eliciting a small wounded cry from him.

This enraged Goku even more. His aura flared slightly as he got ready to charge the other android. However, arms grabbed him from behind. He turned his head slightly to see Yamcha and Tien on either side of him, each one gripping one of his arms.

Goku whipped both of his arms back, forcing his two friends to lose their grip on him. Yamcha flew into Krillin and both of them hit the ground with a hard thud. Piccolo managed to catch Tien before he could do the same.

Goku turned back to the still stunned blonde android in front of him. He pulled back his fist to strike her in the same manner he had her brother.

Eighteen's eyes widened and she brought up her arms to try and block the attack, but was too late. She too was thrown backwards.

His anger at the androids was overshadowed by worry as Goku kneeled by his son's head and turned his body over in his arms. Gohan was unconscious. Goku looked over his son's beaten face, and instantly the rage he had felt returned. A yell ripped through the air as android Seventeen rushed towards him.

Goku was about to put his son down and counter the android's attack, but someone else beat him to the punch and knocked the android back and away again.

Vegeta had phazed in front of him, right before the android had reached him, and had kicked the machine away. He still stood with his leg outstretched, in his super saiyan form, and his arms crossed.

Goku looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Thanks Vegeta." He said. Vegeta just stared at him as he powered down again.

Suddenly, Krillin stepped toward the duo, a look of disbelief upon his face. "Goku." he whispered. "Goku, what did you do?" He asked sharply, panic seeping into his voice.

Goku gazed at his best friend, a look of confusion covered his face. After a moment, his eyes widened at just what his friend was implying. He opened his mouth to reply, but shifting rubble interrupted him. He snapped his head in the direction of the androids, knowing they had only managed to stun them.

He was right. He could see android Eighteen picking herself up, her hand cradling her head.

Goku turned back to his friend and stated, "There's no time right now. We have to get out of here."

Goku put one arm behind his son's back and the other underneath his knees and lifted his limp body off the ground. He gave his friends a quick nod and took off into the air with his son, the others following him.

Goku stared at his son's face for a moment before looking forward at the now setting sun. It was getting late, he noticed. Then, a look of uneasiness crossed his face. He tightened his grip on his son as he asked himself, ' _What did I just do?'_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hello readers! Let me just take a minute to thank everyone who took the time to read the first chapter, and have decided to read chapter 2. I would like to thank everyone who left a review to chapter 1, and I'd like to address those kind people right now:_  
**

 ** _TO: ashlovesdbz_**

 ** _Thank you so much for reviewing! Your comment made me laugh a bit. I hope you're not too shook; or, at least, not shook in a bad way. I'm really glad that you gave the story a chance, even though you didn't think that you would enjoy it. Yes, Gohan is 14 and will be turning 15 soon. I have a birthday chapter planned for when the time comes. Again, thank you for reading, and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy the future chapters that come.  
_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _TO: Hedgecloud69_**

 ** _Yes! I know! In the past, I have been notorious for starting stories and not finishing them. BUT! Don't worry. I have each chapter of this story planned out, I just have to write them out...which is taking a lot longer than I thought. After a couple year hiatus, I came back last year with an Avatar the Last Airbender one-shot. That was me just kinda testing the waters, if you will. I decided to come back this year with a fresh story that I thought would appeal to past readers as well as new ones. After I eventually finish this story (don't know how long that is going to take), I will start the rewrite of my past stories.  
_**

 ** _Thank you again for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy future chapters._**

 ** _..._**

 ** _TO: ThickerThanLove_**

 ** _I'm so glad that you love it so far! I love the relationship that Goku and Gohan have, but sometimes I wish it was stronger. That's what I hope to capitalize on in this story. And yes, papa wolf trope does rule! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.  
_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Alright! There's just one more thing I'd like to address before getting on with the story. Are the chapters too long? I try not to make them too long, but I also don't want them to be too short. I know where each chapter will start and I have an idea of where I'd like each chapter to end; it's just the stuff in between that really drags the chapter out. Anyways, just wanted to know what you thought about that._**

 ** _Now, on to the story!_**

 ** _..._**

 **Chapter 2: And With the Force of Lightning, it Strikes**

Bulma put another dish on the drying rack before picking up another one and washing it as well. She didn't have nearly as many dishes as she usually would have though. She had gone down to the lab after talking to her son and preparing dinner to fetch Gohan, but had found him missing. ' _If he wants to disappear and mope about, then be my guest'_ she thought to herself haughtily. She was still sour at him for how he treated her son. She sighed as she thought about the conversation she had with her son.

After she had left Gohan to his devices, Bulma had followed her son into her bedroom. She had found him sitting on the edge of her bed with his hands in his lap, the teddy bear he held hanging from his grip and against the side of the bed.

 **Flashback**

 _Bulma leaned against the doorframe to her bedroom, her arms crossed as she watched her son. His gaze was downcast. He swung his teddy bear intermittently. His face held a sad frown, his lower lip protruding in a slight pout. He drew his lips together in a fine line as he inhaled and then sighed, his pouty frown returning._

 _Bulma huffed out a breath in sympathy. She quirked her lips in a small, pained smile, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She pushed herself off of the doorframe, uncrossing her arms and walking towards him. She sat next to him on the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap and stared at them._

 _Then she turned her head to look at her son, who had not looked up at her arrival nor when she had sat next to him, and said, "What's wrong sweetheart?" Trunks took a deep breath and sighed again, but did not answer her. She smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "Come on," She sang, "What's wrong."_

 _Trunks inhaled deeply again and harshly pushed out the breath while scowling. "Gohan. That's what's wrong." He stated resentfully._

 _Bulma ran a hand through his lavender hair as she quietly waited for him to continue._

" _It's just-" He started and then huffed, "Why does he have to be so mean?" he asked. She could tell he was hurting._

 _Bulma gripped Trunks' by the shoulder and pulled him against her. She leaned down and rested her head on top of his. She closed her eyes as she started to explain. "Trunks, you have to understand that Gohan has never had a great childhood. He was forced to do things that no kid should ever have to do." She started petting the back of his head in a comforting manner. "Gohan watched a lot of people die, including his own parents." She paused and lifted her head. She gripped Trunks' chin between her index finger and thumb and forced him to look at her._

" _That was really horrible for him, you have to understand." Bulma let go of Trunks' chin and looked across the room at the opposite wall. Trunks continued to look at her as she seemed to go to a far away place._

" _He was devastated when he lost his father. Six month later he lost his best friend and all of the people who had a connection to his father to the androids. All except me and his mother, ChiChi. Then, six months after that, Gohan lost his mother in an accident." Bulma blinked and seemed to come back to herself. She turned her head to look at her son again who was watching her with rapt attention._

" _On top of losing the people closest to him, he also watches people all over the world die too; sometimes in his arms. Things like that...they really changed him." Bulma stared directly into her son's eyes. "The reason Gohan is so mean sometimes, is because he's afraid to get close to people. He's afraid of losing them."_

 _Trunks' eyebrows furrowed in concentration, as if her were figuring out a riddle. Then, as if he were struck with an epiphany, Trunks' eyes widened and her looked his mother in the eye again and asked, "Is that why he's mean? Because he knows that if he's mean to me then I won't like him and we won't get close or become friends?"_

 _Bulma smiled proudly and replied, "Yes, but that doesn't mean he was right to do so. You don't be mean to anyone, got that?" She asked sternly while poking him in the side a couple of times, causing him to laugh. "And when Gohan gets back, I'm going to make him apologize to you." She added and puffed out her chest in determination._

 _Bulma caught the teddy bear her son was still holding out of the corner of her eye. She turned to him, smiled, nudged him again with her elbow and said, "Now, why don't we get Amp all fixed up? Yeah?"_

" _His name is Stumpy." Trunks refuted exasperatedly._

 _Bulma chuckled and ruffled her son's lavender hair. "Of course it is."_

 **End of Flashback**

After she had fixed up Trunks' stuffed animal, Bulma had went to go fix dinner. She was a bit surprised to find Gohan missing from the lab, but knew he would come back.

Bulma finished up the last dish in the sink and set it on the drying rack. She rinsed off her soapy hands and turned off the water. She turned around and grabbed a kitchen towel to dry off her hands. She leaned her back against the corner of the counter as she finished drying off her hands.

Bulma flicked her wrist, throwing the damp towel onto the countertop opposite of her, and rested her hands on the surface behind her while looking out the window to her side.

Her brows creased in worry as she watched the sky slowly darken from dark blue to a deep violet, the sun disappearing beyond the horizon. Bulma bit her bottom lip. Gohan still wasn't home.

She had started to worry about him when he didn't show up for dinner. They had waited for him as long as they could, but ultimately had to eat without him. She had allowed Trunks to wait for him while she put the dishes in the sink and put the leftovers away. After that, she had tucked him in bed and promised to wake him up super early so that he could see Gohan.

Now that it was dark, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him. Was he just being a teenager and disappeared somewhere to wallow in his teenage angst?

No. If he had, he would have been back by now. He couldn't go long without a meal, just like his father.

Had he gone to fight the androids?

It's possible. It seems like the androids attack something, somewhere, almost every other day. He probably went to go fight them.

Will he come back?

The thought caused terror to course through her; her stomach dropped and ice ran through her veins, freezing them.

Bulma let out a shaky breath and shook her head of the negative thought. She turned around and started to wipe the countertop in a mechanical manner.

It's not the first time a thought like that had crossed her mind. After Goku and the others had died, Bulma had adopted Gohan. Not legally of course, but she promised his parents, what seemed like a lifetime ago that, if anything were to happen to the both of them, that she would look after their only son.

After everyone had died, everyone who could help him against the androids, Gohan had taken it upon himself to challenge the androids whenever he could. He took on the responsibility of defeating the androids by himself mostly because there was no one else who could, but also because he thought that it was his duty to pick up the torch that Goku had thrust upon him with his abrupt death.

Day after day, for almost six years now, Gohan had gone out and fought the androids and everytime he comes back more defeated than the last. Her heart bled for him. He was slowly losing hope with each defeat. She didn't know how to help him. Everytime he goes to fight those demons, she's always left with the fear that he wouldn't come back, that he would die.

It's one of the reasons she won't let her own son train in martial arts. She was too afraid of losing him. She stopped her movements, her hand shaking and tears bleeding into her eyes at the thought. She didn't want her son to grow up like Gohan had. Although, more and more that's what it seems like her son's future will end up looking like.

Plus, he's half saiyan. She can only keep him from something that's planted deep in the roots of his heritage for so long.

Bulma craned her neck to look up at the ceiling and sighed, blinking back her tears. She sniffed and discreetly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffed again and was then startled by a loud crash in the front of her yard.

With widened eyes, Bulma threw down her sponge and ran to the front door. When she ripped it open, the sight that greeted her was one she would not forget soon.

In front of her was her dead friends and her dead husband. Bulma blinked owlishly in confusion and worry. "Goku...what-"

She was interrupted by Goku's frantic yell of, "There's no time, Bulma!" He looked down at his son who was still unconscious in his arms. Bulma looked down as well and gasped, her hand going up instantly to cover her mouth.

Gohan was still bleeding from many injuries, bruises had started to form on his arms and face, minor burns littered his skin, his nose was most definitely broken, and she could tell something was wrong with one of his arms. She flicked her eyes back up and her blues met Goku's dark orbs. She inhaled a deep breath, letting her arm fall, and jutted her thumb behind her.

"Come in and follow me. Hurry." Then she turned and started a fast trek to the infirmary.

Trunks, hearing all the commotion, had gotten out of bed and was rubbing his eyes of the tiredness he was feeling. However, once he caught a glimpse of Gohan's beat up form in a stranger's arms, grogginess was replaced by panic. "Mom! What happened?!" He exclaimed.

"Trunks," She breathed. "You need to go back to bed!" Trunks opened his mouth to retaliate, but was cut off as his mother turned to the group of strangers behind her.

"Do you mind making sure he gets back to bed? The only one's I really need right now are Goku and Gohan, otherwise it will get really crowded in the room."

Piccolo stepped forward, his fists clenched, and stated, "I'm going with you."

Goku looked back at him and nodded. "I think that would be best."

Bulma huffed in irritation, "I don't care, I guess, but he have to get moving. What about the rest of you? Will you please look after my son?"

They nodded. Vegeta said nothing and did nothing to indicate he heard her, however she knew he did.

' _This is going to be a long night.'_ She thought to herself. She nodded back at them before gesturing for Goku and Piccolo to follow her once again.

Trunks watched as they disappeared down the hallway. His shoulders sagged and he pouted slightly as he said, "But...I wanna know if he's gonna be alright." He straightened as he felt someone slap a hand on his shoulder, his heart skipping a beat and his blue eyes widening a bit.

Trunks turned and tilted his head so he could see who had done the action. When he looked, he was met with a comforting smile of a short bald man. He had an orange and blue gi similar to Gohan's and the man who was carrying Gohan. He wondered briefly if the two were friends; a fleeting thought as his mind was preoccupied with the state of Gohan's well being.

"Hey," the man muttered, the smile still on his face, bringing Trunks out of his thoughts. "Don't worry about Gohan. I'm sure that he's going to be alright." The man squeezed Trunks' shoulder in a comforting manner, his smile tightening slightly.

Trunks gazed at the man with uncertainty shining in his eyes. He flicked his eyes to the ground and stated, "How can you be so sure?"

The man's hand slipped off his shoulder, and Trunks took the action as a sign that the man wasn't sure how to answer him. However, he was surprised when the man spoke again.

"Because I've known him for a long time," Trunks snapped his eyes up to look at the man's face. This time, the man's smile widened as he stated, "and I know him well enough to know that he won't give up that easily."

With the man's statement and unwavering confidence, Trunks couldn't help but crack a small, hopeful smile.

"Why don't we sit down, Trunks, and wait for your mom to be finished, hm?" He asked, gesturing to the couch that was not too far behind them.

Trunks eyed it with longing before stating with a small frown, "But my mom wants me to go back to bed."

The man's smile grew even more, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle and his eyes to light with laughter. "Don't worry about that right now. Let's just sit down and and get to know each other until your mom comes back. How does that sound?"

Trunks nodded with a small smile once again on his lips. He ran passed the man and jumped onto the couch, bouncing slightly before settling. The man watched him with an amused smile gracing his lips before he too walked over to sit down next to Trunks.

Trunks looked away from the man to observe the other figures in the room, folding his hands in his lap. After getting a good look, he turned back to the man, who was silently watching him, and asked innocently, "So...what's your favorite color?" The man chuckled.

DBZ

"In here." Bulma instructed as she opened the door to let the two men inside, he blue hair swishing with the artificial breeze. She walked in after them and turned on the lights. "Put in there, on that bed." She stated as she turned to wash her hands.

Piccolo and Goku did as they were told, and moved to the bed in the center of the room. Piccolo moved to the right side of the bed and pulled back the all white sheets and blankets in order to allow Goku to set his son down. Goku did so, moving to the other side of the bed and setting his son down as gently as possible to cause minimal pain.

Gohan's face broke into a grimace as his back hit the soft surface, his breath hitching in his throat. Goku cringed slightly in sympathy and brushed Gohan's long bangs away from his forehead. Of course, as soon as his hand move away Gohan's bangs just fell right back into place; a curse he had adopted from his father. Goku huffed out a laugh at the thought.

Bulma walked around the room gathering supplies she thought she might need; gauze, medical tape, needles, medicine, gloves, cleaner, cotton swabs, etc. She put it all on a tray and walked over to stand next to Goku. She put her tray of supplies on a rolling holder for easy access.

Bulma put a medical mask on, looping it around her ears, and snapped gloves on both hands. She grabbed a mask and a pair of gloves for both men and held it out to them. When they made no move to grab either item from her, she explained, "I may need your help and if you want to help, we are going to do it my way." She eyed both of the men and then the supplies in her hands.

Piccolo and Goku did as she had demanded, and put on gloves and a mask as she reached for a small bottle with clear liquid in it and a needle. Piccolo's long fingernails easily poked holes through the rubber gloves. "Uh…." He muttered eloquently. Bulma looked up at him and he held up his hands to her. She hummed and she felt her eyebrow twitch, but said nothing, turning her attention to the task at hand.

Goku made a small noise as he watched the blue haired woman bring the needle closer to the top of the bottle.

Bulma paused in he actions at the small noise. She blinked and looked at Goku's uneasy face. She sighed and said, "I'm going to need your help, and I can't have you in here if you're going to be afraid to see a needle."

Goku nodded in understanding and swallowed as he felt small beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead. "Are you going to be able to handle being in here?" She asked. He nodded. "You're sure?" Another nod.

"Okay." she stated and continued her task.

Bulma popped the needle into the small bottle and pulled up on the tab, the needle filling with the clear liquid. As she pulled it out, Goku asked, "What is that stuff?"

"It's Procaine Hydrochloride." She responded and pushed the tab down to release the air that had gathered in the needle. When he didn't reply, she looked over at him. "It's Novacaine." At his continued blank look, she explained, "It's a numbing agent." And before he could ask, "I inject the liquid through this needle in the place where I need to work so that Gohan won't feel as much pain when I fix his injuries."

Goku's mouth erupted into an 'o' shape and his eyebrows rose in understanding as his curiosity was satisfied for the time being.

"It takes a few minutes to really numb certain areas, so I'll inject it now," she pinched a portion on Gohan's bruised cheek and injected the needle into it. Goku winced. "and when I'm done elsewhere the area should be numb enough to work on."

Bulma put the needle down and moved the tray behind her. She looked at Goku and Piccolo before stating, "I'll need both of your help on this part." They nodded, Goku a bit more reluctantly than Piccolo.

Bulma inclined her head in Piccolo's direction. "I'll need you to grab a hold of his arm, firmly." He did so. "Put one of your hands on his chest to hold him down and make sure he stays in place; this is going to hurt." He nodded.

Bulma grabbed a hold of Gohan's dislocated arm, putting one hand on his elbow and the other just below his shoulder. She lifted his arm off the bed, gently, and rotated it so that the palm of his hand was facing the tiled floor. She got into position and, just before popping the appendage into place, leaned forward and quietly muttered, "Gohan, if you can hear me, I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt a lot." With that said, Bulma jerked his arm up and in towards his body with all of the strength she could.

The reaction was instant. Gohan violently jerked trying to somehow get away from the pain he was experiencing and when that failed he thrashed about, all the while screaming and panting to alleviate some of the agonizing, firey pain that engulfed his shoulder. Piccolo and Bulma held him firmly against the bed, as to not further aggravate his injuries.

After Gohan settled down a bit, Bulma carefully let go of his shoulder and bent his elbow so that it was resting against his stomach. Then she turned to Goku and asked, "Will you hold his arm just like this?"

Goku's hand reluctantly replaced Bulma's hand as she moved to grab bandage. She wrapped Gohan's shoulder tightly, allowing minimal movement. After she was done with that, She moved on to his cheek.

Bulma nodded to Goku to let go of his son's arm. She grabbed a needle and started stitching together the large cut on Gohan's cheek. After she was done with that, she put a large patch of gauze over it to protect it and secured it with a few pieces of medical tape. Then, she moved on to wrap up his ribs.

Before being asked to, Piccolo lifted Gohan's back being careful not to jostle his injuries and making sure to support his head. Bulma nodded in thanks and began to wrap. All were quiet in the small room.

Goku fidgeted as he watched the other two work. After another minute, he asked in impatience, "How much more is there?"

Bulma finished wrapping Gohan's ribs and wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her wrist as Piccolo layed Gohan back down before addressing Goku, "We've still got a while to go. Most of it I can do myself, but I do need your help on a few more things. Plus, after I'm done, I'm going to need your help to move him." Then she turned and went back to work.

Goku sighed in disappointment and sagged his shoulders slightly as he waited to be called upon for help. He was unaware of the glare that Piccolo was shooting his way as he busied himself with other things.

After another moment, Bulma asked, "Goku, could you hand me that squeeze bottle?" Without turning to look at him, she held out her hand for the item. Goku looked at the tray full of equipment.

"Uh...eheheh." He laughed cluelessly while putting a hand behind his head, rubbing it. "Which one is that again?"

Before Bulma could answer him, Piccolo moved to their side of the bed and pushed Goku out of the way. "Move over and let me do it." He spat. He grabbed the requested bottle and handed it over to Bulma.

"Thanks." Bulma exhaled in uneasiness. Then she moved to the other side of the bed, where Piccolo had been before, and got to work on the injuries settled there. "Can you hand me some gauze, Piccolo?" She asked. Again he handed her the requested item.

Goku stood back and watched them work with a slightly melancholy look on his face. He watched, back and forth, as they interacted.

"Medical tape."

He handed it to her.

"Can you hand me the needle and bottle of Novacaine? This is a pretty big cut."

He offered her the items.

"While that numbs up, why don't you help me with this?" She gestured to his sprained ankle. He nodded.

"Grab a roll of bandages."

He did.

"I can help Bulma." Goku pipped in, pointing a finger at himself childishly.

Bulma looked up from wrapping Gohan's ankle to Goku and said with a small smile, "No. That's alright. We've got it." Then she looked back down and continued her task.

When she was done with that, she moved back to the cut she had numbed earlier and asked for the supplies to stitch it up. She was rewarded with the requested items and she then set about fixing the damage.

This pattern continued for the better part of an hour; Bulma asking for supplies, Piccolo granting them, and Goku watching them work.

"Well, this looks like the last injury we have to deal with." Bulma stated swiping again at her forehead.

Goku perked up, having been previously slouched in a chair with his eyes drooping threatening sleep, and rubbed at his tired eyes. He got out of his comfortable chair and walked over to the bed where his now recovering son was on. His son looked more peaceful now, he noticed cheerfully with a small smile on his face.

Bulma, noticing the change in Goku's attitude, smiled and asked, "Would you like do the honors, Goku, and help me wrap his last injury?" Goku nodded enthusiastically. She laughed. "Why don't you grab a bandage roll and I'll tell you how to wrap it." She said.

Again, Goku nodded and reached for the wrappings. He turned back to Bulma, awaiting her instructions.

"Alright. Now, I want you to unwrap the roll slowly and put the end of it here." Bulma pointed to Gohan's neck. Goku followed her instructions with the roll, but paused when he looked at Gohan's neck. Noticing his hesitation, and mistaking it for confusion, Bulma continued, "Just place a portion of it under his neck so that the end of the wrap rests against the side. Then wrap over it once so that it stays in place."

Goku, however, made no move to continue following her instructions. He continued to stare at the blue and purple finger like bruises across his son's neck.

"Goku?" Bulma asked hesitantly. He didn't respond. He continued to stare.

Piccolo became frustrated with Goku's inaction and growled. He moved forward and shoved Goku to the side, ripping the bandages out of his fingers. Bulma instructed him on what to do as she eyed her best friend in confusion and worry.

Goku's head was angled downward, his hair creating a shadow over his eyes, and his shoulders sagged as his back slouched. Images of his son's fight flashed in his mind. How useless he had been to prevent those bruises on Gohan's body. How useless he had been while others worked on his son's recovery. How clueless he was with everything that didn't involve fighting.

What a useless father he was.

An ache formed in his chest at the thought. Was he a bad father? Why does he even have to ask himself that? Of course he was a good father!

…

Or…

at least…

He always tried to be.

He was drawn from his thoughts as Bulma placed a hand on his shoulder. "Goku...hey." She said nervously. "It's alright. I just wanted to cover the bruises on his neck because I don't want Trunks to see them. I know he's going to want to come and see Gohan immediately when he's able. If he sees the bruises, he'll ask questions. He's still young and I just don't want him to know how cruel the world is yet."

When he said nothing, she hastily said, "Really, Gohan's injuries aren't that bad. I just wanted to get them all wrapped up."

Goku gave her a sad smile, his face soft. "Thanks for taking care of him, Bulma."

She easily smiled back. "Help me move him, will you?" She asked, jutting her thumb towards the bed. Goku nodded.

He started to roll the bed out of the room, but Bulma held up her hand, stopping him. "I sent Piccolo to get a new bed for him." That was when he noticed that Piccolo was actually gone.

"Now that all of his injuries are taken care of, he won't bleed all over the sheets." Goku looked to the sheets that were currently under Gohan and noticed that they were indeed soaked with blood.

Bulma continued, grabbing her chin with her index finger and thumb, "We'll move him to a new room too, one closer to the rest of the bedrooms so he won't be that far if he needs anything." Bulma tilted her head towards the ceiling and continued to talk, though now she was mostly talking to herself.

Goku tore his attention away from Bulma to look at his son again. His face looked very peaceful, he must be feeling much more comfortable now. Of course he was. Bulma had taken care of all his son's injuries while he had stood on the sidelines and watched.

"Don't you think, Goku?"

Goku blinked and looked at Bulma. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Sounds great." He tried to sound convincing.

He must not have succeeded because Bulma scowled at him and put her hands on her hips. "Were you even listening to me?" She asked.

Goku opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when Piccolo entered the room with a new bed. It seemed Bulma was distracted as well.

"Oh, good. You're here. Now let's move Gohan, shall we?"

She walked over to the right side of the bed and said, "Goku, why don't you come over here." She suggested. He did as he was told.

"Now, Piccolo, I want you to move that bed right next to this one. Don't leave a gap either. Make sure it's right up next to the other bed." He also did as he was instructed.

"Good." She said. "Now I want both of you to grab the sheet that Gohan is laying on and transfer him from this bed to that one. Just slide him over." She stated as clarification.

They did as they were instructed and Bulma smiled. "Alright, now get rid of the old sheet."

Goku nodded. He balled up the blood covered sheet in his hands and then incinerated it with a weak ki blast.

"Gah! I didn't actually mean get rid of it! I thought you were just going to-! Ugh." She sighed in irritation and palmed her forehead. "Nevermind. Let's just get him to a new room." Piccolo wheeled the bed out of the room and Bulma followed, leaving Goku to trail behind him as scratched his head and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What had he done wrong?

DBZ

Krillin scratched his cheek as his eyebrows hung low over his eyes in serious thought. Then he asked the young boy net to him, "Does it have to be a real animal?"

The lavender haired boy shook his head negatively. "Hm…" Krillin hummed. He narrowed his eyes before blinking and snapping his fingers, coming to a decision. "I know! A Sabertooth Moose Lion cub." (A/N: anyone know where that's from? LOL)

Vegeta scowled. "Tch." He turned his head and looked away from the duo. However, he continued to listen.

Trunks crinkled his eyebrows together disdainfully, "Why a cub?"

"Because the cubs are much cuter. I don't think I'd ever want to meet a fully grown Sabertooth Moose Lion. They're mean and scary." Krillin replied.

Trunks pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, considering the man's words. "Okay." He conceded and smiled. "I agree. That's _way_ cooler than a Platypus Bear."

"Hey, Trunks. Do you want to hear my favorite animal?" Yamcha asked, smiling.

Trunks stared at him blankly before stating bluntly, "No. I don't like you. Go away."

After hearing this, Vegeta closed his eyes and smirked. He had never liked the beta male either.

"Mom! Mom!" Trunks shouted, ruining Vegeta's sweet moment.

The smirk slipped off of Vegeta's face and he opened his eyes. He turned his head down the hallway that the trio had disappeared down almost two hours before. He watched his son interact with his mother.

"Mom! Is Gohan alright? Is he okay?" Trunks asked his mother frantically, his face full of fear. He reached up to grasp at his mother's hand, begging for an answer.

Bulma smiled at him in a comforting way. She kneeled down and hugged him. "Yes, sweetheart. He's going to be fine." She stated quietly into his ear, patting and rubbing his back.

She lifted him up and sat on the couch in the spot her young son had occupied a moment before.

Krillin looked between Bulma and Goku and Piccolo, who were still standing in the hallway. He looked at Bulma again and then the little boy in her arms and said, "Is he really going to be alright?"

Bulma looked him in the eyes and nodded. Then she looked at everyone else, besides herself and Krillin, who were still standing, smiled, and said, "Well, come on! Sit down and get comfortable! You're not strangers you know." Then she patted the seat next to her and gestured to the loveseat and recliner. "Sit." She said again.

When no one made a move to listen, she scowled in slight irritation and stated in a demanding voice, "Sit down. Now." They began to sit.

Yamcha sat closely next to Bulma, but crowded himself against the arm of the couch when he received a deathly glare from Vegeta. Goku sat on the loveseat by himself while Tien, Piccolo, and Vegeta continued to stand. However, they did move to get more comfortable leaning against the wall; Piccolo by the hallway, Tien leaned against the wall on the other side of the hallway entrance next to Piccolo, and Vegeta on the opposite wall from them.

Bulma turned Trunks around on her lap, so that his back was against her stomach and his legs rested on top of both of hers, and then eyed each man in the room. Silence reigned.

"Tell me what's going on. How did you get here?" Bulma asked suddenly.

All heads turned silently to look at Goku. Goku's head snapped back and forth to look at each person in the room. "Wait! Wait!" Goku yelled defensively while waving his hands in a non-threatening way. "How is this all my fault?" He asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Vegeta snapped. "This is all your fault!" He yelled, waving a clenched fist in the other saiyan's direction.

"Everyone relax!" Bulma stated with authority. She let out a breath, the breath tickling and disrupting Trunks' lavender hair and also relaxing her own tense muscles. "Just start from the beginning." When no one began speaking, she added, "Someone. Someone start from the beginning."

And so, Goku spoke, "Well, it started earlier. We were all in upper heaven, training when I started to have this weird feeling." He continued to tell her everything that had happened in the other world and what happened with Gohan and the androids.

During his speech Trunks had nodded off, though he had desperately wanted to know what was happening with these strange people and what their connection was to Gohan and his mother. Drool had started rolling down his chin and onto his shirt. Bulma listened to the story with rapt attention, trying to hold on to every detail.

"And that's when we started heading here. I wanted to get Gohan some help and I knew that you would be the perfect person." Goku finished.

Bulma blinked at him and stayed silent, trying to process all of his words. A small, concentrated frown adorned her face. She blinked away from Goku and looked at the carpeted floor. No one said anything to disrupt her thinking. She took a deep breath and said, "So, let me get this straight." She blinked and again looked back up at Goku. "You were sent here by the Grand Kai,"

She then looked at Yamcha, "to observe life on Earth," She flicked her eyes to Tien, "and then go immediately back. When you got here," She looked at Piccolo, "you observed the fight between Gohan" she turned her head to look at Vegeta, "and the androids and" She then looked at Krillin, "you noticed that he was losing the fight" She then turned her head again to look at Goku before finishing her sentence, "so, you decided to intervene. Do I have that right?"

Goku blinked confusedly, "What does 'enter bean' mean?" he asked.

Bulma took in a breath and closed her eyes while letting it out slowly. She looked at her long time friend with a look of disbelief, however she did not say anything.

Piccolo stepped forward and said, "You've pretty much got the gist of the situation."

Bulma nodded. "But if you are only visible to me if you've interacted with something in this world, then what happened? How are all of you here? How can I see you?" She asked with confusion and curiosity shining in her eyes.

"Well," Goku began while rubbing the back of his head, "I sorta...kinda…attacked… androids Thirteen and Fourteen."

"Seventeen and Eighteen." Piccolo corrected.

"Really?" Goku asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

Ignoring him, Tien continued, "When Goku went to attack android Eighteen, Yamcha and I grabbed his arms."

"Then he threw us back and I knocked into Krillin." Yamcha added.

"I kept Tien from crashing into me." Piccolo stated.

"What about you, Vegeta?" Bulma asked, turning to look at him and waiting patiently for his answer.

Vegeta huffed, smirked and proclaimed proudly, "I knocked the washing machine back and saved the life of a certain third class clown and his second rate, half breed son."

"Yes, and that was very impressive." Tien said condescendingly.

Vegeta growled and uncrossed his arms, stepping toward the three-eyed man in a threatening manner. This caused Tien to smirk in response.

"Guys." Bulma said in warning.

The two men conceded and turned away from each other, neither one wanting to gain the wrath of the blue haired beauty.

Ignoring them again, Bulma stated, "So, when Tien and Yamcha grabbed onto Goku to stop him from attacking one of the androids, they became part of this world because by that point Goku was already in the physical world. Then everyone else became part of this world because of circumstance."

"So it is Kakarot's fault!" Vegeta accused.

"Yeah, but you put yourself into this position, Vegeta, so shut up!" Bulma said irritated with the saiyan prince's attitude.

"So...what now?" Krillin asked no one in particular. No one answered him.

Bulma looked down at her sleeping son. He had miraculously stayed asleep during all of the yelling. She smiled softly at him and pet his lavender haired head. "Trunks." She sang softly, trying to coax him from his slumber. "Trunks."

Trunks' eyelids fluttered open at the sound of his mother's voice. He blinked a couple of times and then tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Trunks." His mother sang again. Blinking tiredly, Trunks turned around on his mother's lap to face her. His eyes started to burn slightly, so he started rubbing them again.

"Would you like to go see Gohan now, Trunks?" Bulma asked, petting his head again. Hearing this, Trunks perked up a bit and nodded his head as enthusiastically as he could in his tired state.

"Okay. Let's go." Bulma stood and held her son against her hip. Trunks wrapped his arms around his mother's middle and rested his head against her bosom. She turned to the other men in the room, "You're welcome to come as well." Then she walked down the dark hallway.

With a lack of something better to do, the other adults followed; some more reluctantly than others.

Once Bulma had reached the door to the room they had left Gohan in, Trunks started to fidget in her arms and said, "Mom, put me down." She did so and then reached to open the door.

As soon as it was open, Trunks trotted in and climbed onto the bed with Gohan. "Be careful, Trunks. His injuries haven't healed yet." Bulma warned her son quietly. Trunks looked at his mother and nodded in understanding. The others walked in after the two and spread around the room to give each other space.

The room Gohan had been left in seemed more like a bedroom than part of the infirmary. The walls were painted a light, warm lavender while the plush carpet they stood on was a dark plum color. There was a window that sat above a dresser opposite of the door. The furniture in the room was made of dark sandalwood.

Gohan was laying on lilac colored sheets, his face peaceful as he slept. Trunks pulled back the red wine blankets and put his legs underneath them. He moved Gohan's right arm so that he could curl up against his side. When he made himself comfortable, Trunks pulled Gohan's arm over his body and snuggled deeply into Gohan's side.

Goku watched the exchange from the doorway. A pang of unidentifiable emotion hit his chest. He couldn't remember the last time he and Gohan had cuddled like that. He found that he really missed the feeling. He wondered if he would ever get to snuggle with his son again. Was Gohan too old to snuggle with him? How old...was his son anyway?

How many years had it been since he had died?

How many years had Gohan had to survive on his own?

"Wow, he looks much better." Yamcha said as he smiled, interrupting Goku from his musings. He silently agreed.

"That reminds me," Krillin suddenly said, "I didn't know you were so suave in the medical field Bulma."

She turned her head to look at him. "I never used to be. I didn't think I ever needed to be." Then she looked tenderly at her best friend's son who continued to sleep peacefully despite the child that curled himself against the teenager's body. "But now there is."

Bulma walked over to the duo on the bed and pulled the blankets up a bit more and tucked them both in. She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed back her son's lavender hair, allowing her hand to travel across his forehead and rest her palm against his cheek. Trunks' blue eyes blinked sluggishly as he started to fall back asleep.

Then she took a breath and straightened her back. "Let's go back into the living room. I'll make tea and throw together a few snacks. There we will be able to talk freely."

"Wait mom." Trunks said weakly, grabbing the cuff of his mother's shirt. Bulma stopped moving and leaned back down toward her son.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"I want Stumpy. Can you get 'im for me?" He asked.

Bulma's lips quirked. "I don't know," She sang, "it looks pretty crowded on the bed already."

"Please?"

The blue haired woman smiled softly and ruffled her son's hair. "Of course." She said. Then she turned to address the others. "If you want to head to the living room, I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

They nodded and made their way out of the surprisingly spacious room and down the hallway. Bulma went across the hall to her room and grabbed her sons teddy bear. She walked back into the previous room to find that her son had already fallen asleep in the few seconds she had been away. She softly walked across the carpet and gently sat his teddy bear between his slack arms. Trunks subconsciously gripped the teddy bear tight and hugged it to himself, a small smile appearing on his face as he did so.

Bulma gently kissed her son's forehead and lovingly brushed the bangs out of Gohan's face. Then she turned to leave the room and let the boys rest. As she reached the threshold of the doorway, Bulma angled her head to take one last look at her son and her adoptive son before quietly closing the door with a soft click. She then made her way to the kitchen to start a pot of water for the promised tea.

The others sat in the living room patiently waiting for her. They watched her as she worked. The wall that had previously separated the two rooms was absent. Krillin had fleetingly wondered what had happened to it. ' _She probably just took it down because the style wasn't_ in _.'_ He thought exasperatedly.

After a few minutes, Bulma came into the room and set down her tray full of snacks and tea onto the coffee table in the middle of her arranged couches. She sat where she had previously been with her son and folded her hands in her lap. She avoided eye contact and stared at her lap quietly. No one reached for the goods that had been produced.

Normally, the promise of food and drinks would perk him up, but Goku didn't feel like eating. There were too many things on his mind; too many things that were circling his conscious.

Bulma took a steadying breath and let it out slowly. Without looking up at the others, she spoke, "After that initial attack just off of South City, the androids paraded about, destroyed a lot of things, killed even more people…" She trailed off. She busied herself with pouring a cup of tea with no intention of actually drinking it.

"The hospitals were being destroyed, schools became crime scenes, and people were too scared to leave their homes. I provided as much as I could with my company's finances and resources." Bulma stared into her cup and ran her finger around the rim. "It just wasn't enough." She stated.

"The injured were coming in faster than we could rebuild and the supplies were being used too quickly." She looked up at the men in the room.

"No place is safe from those monsters." She set her tea cup on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. "A few years ago, the androids attacked this place."

She took a breath and continued, "Most of my employees were killed during the attack, and with a single blast Capsule Corporation was rendered useless. I haven't reopened the company since."

Bulma looked at the coffee table. Her eyes filled with sudden tears and her jaw shook slightly as she spoke, "I didn't think Trunks and I were going to make it out alive." Her hands started to shake. "If it weren't for Gohan and his knowledge in the medical field, I would be." She paused.

"Dead, I mean. I would be dead." Bulma finished. "It's a good thing ChiChi drilled him in his studies growing up. He taught me everything I know about medical practices." She added as an afterthought.

Goku, who had previously been staring off into space, snapped his head in Bulma's direction. "ChiChi." He whispered. "Where is ChiChi?" He asked louder. "I thought for sure that she would have been here by now if she knew Gohan was here."

Bulma looked at him, her face pinched. It looked as if she wasn't sure how to answer him. "You mean...you mean you don't know?" She asked slowly. At the tilt of his head and the confused look upon his face, She sighed.

"You really don't know, do you?" She asked, her eyes going sad. Goku's brows became furrowed in concern at her avoidance of his question.

"ChiChi is dead." She stated suddenly, an emotionless mask on her face. It had taken her all this time to come to terms with her friend's death, and she still couldn't talk about it without balling.

Shocked silence filled the room. "When?" Goku asked desperately.

"She died…" Speaking of water works...Bulma had to pause and blink back fresh tears. She put a hand to her mouth to hold back a sob. After a moment, she cleared her throat and briefly closed her eyes.

"She died..." She continued when she felt she had gained enough courage. She tucked a blue strand of hair behind her ear. "She died six months after the rest of you did. Six months almost to the day." She stated.

"Shit." Yamcha breathed out.

"He lost everyone... in one year?" Tien asked in disbelief.

Bulma nodded sadly. The room was quiet. Goku contemplated everything he had learned. He died, the androids were released, his friends died, the world went to shit, his wife is dead, and his son is an orphan.

His son had been through so much.

"How?" Goku demanded.

"Hm?" Bulma hummed in confusion to his question.

"How did she die?" He asked.

Bulma's face paled and she inclined her head slightly. Blinking sporadically, she took a few shaky breaths and said, "I think it would be best if the answer came from Gohan."

Then, as if realizing something, Bulma straightened and asked, "Does Gohan even know about you guys yet?"

Krillin looked to his spiky haired friend waiting for him to answer. When Goku made no move to speak, however, Krillin spoke for him. "I don't think so. He may have already been unconscious when Goku stepped in to help him."

Bulma nodded, some color filling her face again. "Then we should keep it that way for now. At least until I can explain everything to him." The others silently agreed.

Silence.

"So," Bulma exhaled awkwardly, rubbing the palm of her hands on her thighs. "should we call it a night?" She slapped her hands on her knees and stood up, brushing her hair behind her ears. When no one responded, she spoke. "I'll show you to a few spare rooms if you'd like." She gestured down the hallway they had just come from.

Vegeta pushed himself off the wall he was leaned against and stated, "I'll just show myself to the gravity chamber." He turned and started walking away. "If you'll excuse me." He added sarcastically.

"You can't." Bulma said, stopping the Saiyan Prince in his tracks.

The prince turned to her with a scowl on his face. "And why the hell not?" He snapped.

"Because it was destroyed when Capsule Corp. was attacked." She stated. "All of our labs and most of our technology and resources were lost during the attack." She gripped her chin with her index finger and thumb and narrowed her eyes in a thoughtful manner, her eyes drifting to the floor. "I'm not even sure I have enough materials to build a brand new one."

She looked back up at the scowling prince and stated, "The best thing you can do right now is get some sleep. We can figure out the training thing tomorrow morning."

Vegeta's scowl deepened. "I take orders from no one." He sneered.

Bulma rolled her eyes, then fiercely galred at the Saiyan Prince. "Fine!" She snapped. "If you want to be a sleep deprived asshole tomorrow, then you better not give me any attitude!" Then she turned and strutted down the hallway. The others followed cautiously.

Vegeta 'humph'ed loudly and turned his head to the side defiantly. Hearing this, Bulma roared, "I mean it!" Vegeta only growled in response.

As they walked down the hallway, Krillin chuckled nervously and said, "Wow Bulma, you haven't changed a bit."

Without looking back at him, she replied, "If you really believe that, then you've been looking through rose colored glass." Krillin stopped laughing and just rubbed his neck, unsure of what to say.

They came to a stop in the middle of the hallway and Bulma turned to them. "Well, here we are. There's a spare room here," She gestured to her right. "and here," she then gestured to the left. "and there are few more down the hall and on the right. The two doors down the hall and on the left belong to me and Trunks. The door at the end of the hallway on the right is Gohan's. Other than those, you can pick and choose whichever room you want. They're all styled mostly the same way. Each room has a bathroom so that shouldn't be a problem." She tilted her head and put a finger on her cheek, her eyes drifting towards the ceiling, as she went through a mental checklist.

"I think that's everything." She stated. Then she flicked her blue eyes to the men in front of her and smiled kindly. "Although if you need anything, my room is across the hall from Gohan's room." She turned and waved at them. "Goodnight." Then she disappeared into her room.

The group in the hall began to disperse. Tien and Yamcha took the rooms closest to them while Goku, Krillin and Piccolo drifted further down the hall. As they came upon the first door, Krillin stopped in front of it and gripped the handle. "Goodnight." He said. He closed the door behind him with a soft click.

Goku skipped the next door and decided to take the room closest to his son's room. He wrapped his hand around the door handle, but paused when he noticed that Piccolo was still standing in the hallway. "Piccolo?"

He needn't say more. "I'm going to stay out here and meditate." The green man stated.

Goku nodded in understanding and pushed open the door to his new room. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He closed his eyes and let out a breath, sliding down to the floor. It had been a long day.

Goku opened his eyes to stare at the white ceiling. He was surprised he could see it, even in the darkness of night. He plucked the plush carpet with his fingers while he traced the pattern on the ceiling with his eyes as he vaguely wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Goku took a deep breath and let it out as he dragged himself to his feet. He walked over to the bed and flopped onto it unceremoniously. Goku laid on his stomach with his limbs spread out over the expanse of the blankets. He turned his head to the side so he could breathe better, and let his eyes drift to examine the textured comforter.

His chest felt heavy.

Goku inhaled deeply and rolled onto his back, exhaling heavily. Then, he closed his tired eyes and calmed his mind.

DBZ

A few hours later, Goku found himself tossing and turning in the comfortable bed. It seemed he just couldn't fall asleep. He rolled from his stomach onto his back again and let out a small whine. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just sleep?

Goku stared blankly at the ceiling. He wondered what time it was. He just wanted to sleep. He just wanted to forget the days events.

No.

He didn't really want to forget what he had learned, he just didn't know how to cope with it. What he did know was that getting plenty of rest would help.

Now if only he would fall asleep…

Goku exhaled heavily and sat up quickly. He tossed the blankets to the side and slung his legs over the edge of the bed. He leaned forward and gripped the edge of the bed. He stared at the floor. Why wouldn't sleep come?

Giving up on sleep for now, Goku stood up while running a hand through his hair. He opened the door to his bedroom and shut it softly behind him. He scratched his head and yawned. He blinked.

Piccolo was no longer in the hallway. Goku briefly wondered where he had went.

Goku turned his head and eyed the handle to the door of his son's room. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of the door, his hand wrapped around the handle and in mid-turn. He turned to look down the hall and then eyed the door to Bulma's room as if he were a child afraid of getting caught having his hand in the cookie jar.

When the coast was clear, Goku quietly pushed the door open. Soft snores greeted him.

Gohan had not moved since the last time Goku had seen him. Trunks had moved some, but limited space did not allow him to move much. The snores seemed to be coming from the lavender haired child. His mouth hung open, and drool streamed down his cheek. Goku chuckled. He looked quite comfortable.

Goku flicked his eyes to his son's face. He looked as peaceful as he had before. His condition must not have changed much. Goku walked over to the bed. ' _I wonder when he'll wake up.'_ He thought to himself. He brushed his son's bangs out of his face and sighed. He let his hand fall to his side. His son has had a hard life.

How many times had his son needed him and he wasn't there?

How many times had he let his son down?

How many times did those things happen when he was still alive?

Goku closed his eyes and sighed again. Maybe this was why he couldn't sleep.

Goku opened his eyes and spotted a chair in the corner of the room. He walked over to it and turned it around. He sat in it with his arms resting on the back of the chair and continued to watch his son sleep. A soft look covered his face. He missed this feeling.

Goku rested his chin on his arms. He felt so estranged from this person that was his son. They used to be so close. He closed his eyes. What happened to them?

DBZ

Gohan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes fluttered open and they met the patterned ceiling. Gohan's eyebrows came together. Where was he?

The sounds of soft snoring reached his ears. Gohan blinked and turned his head to the side. His eyes met a messy mop of lavender hair. He smiled. He had somehow made it out of that fight alive, but how?

Gohan's face broke into a contemplative frown. How did he manage to get back to Capsule Corp. on his own? The answer is that he didn't. He couldn't have. He was on the verge of unconsciousness when Android Seventeen had decided to rip off his arm. So what happened?

Gohan looked back down at the small body snuggled into his own. It must have been him. ' _But how? Trunks is barely strong enough to hold his own against a human, so how did he do it?'_ At that moment, his body decided to remind him why he was asleep in the first place.

After hissing in pain, Gohan sighed and decided that it didn't matter. He needed to get some more sleep. He unwrapped his arm from underneath Trunks' small body and rolled onto his side. He tucked his right arm underneath his head and slung his injured arm gently over Trunks and pulled his small body closer to his own. As he did so, Gohan felt a lump between his arms and Trunks' torso. Angling his head to get a better look, Gohan noticed the teddy bear he was hugging to himself.

Suddenly, the image of the little girl flashed vividly through his mind.

An uneasy feeling spread throughout Gohan's body, and he made sure the small body was pressed firmly against his own. He took comfort in the fact that he could feel Trunks' chest rise and fall with every breath he took. He felt better knowing that his little brother was safe and secure in his arms and not in some town possibly dead. He wondered if his father had ever felt this way when he himself had been in Trunks' position.

Gohan stared at the teddy bear while he briefly pondered the thought. With the way his father had always gone off to fight and left him alone made him think that no, his father did not worry about his safety or well being. However, another thought contradicted the sentiment.

Goku was his father. Of course he was worried about his son. How could he not be?

Then again…

Gohan sighed to dispel the feeling in his chest and allowed his eyes to fall shut. There, he was assaulted with gentle memories of he and his father in a happier time. This only made the feeling in his chest intensify. He took a deep breath and adjusted himself to help shake away the memories from behind his eyelids. He smiled slightly as his nostrils filled with the scent of the little boy up against him and then he drifted off to sleep.

He never noticed the figure sitting in the corner, shrouded in darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! Welcome back to another chapter! I just want to apologize for the wait. I uploaded this almost a week later than I wanted to. I'm trying to make it so that I upload a chapter every couple of weeks, so hopefully I will be able to stick with that. Also, just to let you know, this chapter is a little shorter than the previous ones. I know I've said it at the beginning of the previous chapters, and you might be sick of hearing it, but I'm going to say it again; thank you so much for joining me again this chapter! It really does mean a lot to me that you fine individuals take the time to read my work. I appreciate it and I hope you will continue to do so.**

 **Now I'd like to take the time to address the reviews I got for the last chapter:**

 **To EmeraldSaiyan:**

 **I'm really glad you are enjoying the story so far! I love to read stories about this timeline as well, and this is actually the first time I'm writing a story about it. The idea just kinda popped into my head one day and I thought it sounded like a good idea. Also, thank you for your comment! I've never broken a bone or dislocated anything so I'm really glad I was able to portray that scenario pretty well. I have enjoyed writing the story so far; hopefully just as much as you have enjoyed reading it. Thank you for your review, and I hope you continue to enjoy my content.**

 **...**

 **To Guest:**

 **To answer your inquiries, even though Goku and Vegeta have been dead for about six years they have not yet attained the ssj2 transformation. I have decided to save that transformation for a later time in the story. At this point Goku and Vegeta are pretty strong for super saiyans, but they are only just slightly stronger than Gohan. To give you a little more perspective, Gohan has been getting beaten to near death by the androids for nearly six years now. As you know every time a saiyan is beaten pretty badly, they gain a significant amount of power when they recover. However, despite this, Gohan is still unable to defeat them by himself.  
**

 **It's true that Goku and Vegeta have been training hard in other world, no doubt, but at this point the androids are still stronger. None of the team could defeat the androids on their own. The androids are a strong and lethal duo, especially when they fight together. That said, you should expect to see some exciting fight scenes coming soon.  
**

 **When Goku jumped in to save Gohan from the androids, his only concern was his son's safety. His attack was fueled by adrenaline, so he wasn't really focused on the power behind his attack.**

 **When each of the Z fighters died, their physical bodies were cast off and their souls essentially became their bodies. Their allowed walk around like that in other world because they have the protection of that dimension protecting them. In the physical world, they do not have that protection and, with no body to contain their spirits for protection, they will slowly start to fade away.**

 **And your assumptions are correct! The Kais are hiding something. What? Well...you'll just have to keep reading to find out (laughs evilly).**

 **Anyways, I hope I addressed everything you wanted to be addressed. If not, feel free to leave another review or PM me. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy!**

 **...**

 **To ThickerThanLove:**

 **Things are definitely going to be tense when Gohan wakes up. Just a forewarning, there's going to be a lot of angst when that time comes. You just might be right; if Goku and Gohan can mend their relationship, I'm quite sure Goku is able to pull out Gohan's inner child. I'm pretty sure Goku can bring out anyone's inner child! As for how old Gohan was when he first turned super saiyan, well...that's going to come up in a future chapter so I'm not going to comment on that at this point. Hope you're not too disappointed!**

 **Thank you very much for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy future chapters.**

 **...**

 **I believe that is all I have for announcements at this moment. Thank you to everyone who have read, reviewed, favorited, followed, etc. Now enjoy the chapter!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 3: Tense Interactions**

It was not a secret, to the people that knew him, that Vegeta was not a happy man. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Always poised, always guarded, and always with a scowl on his face, Vegeta was very proud of the fact that he was always ready for anything.

Vegeta grunted unhappily as the sunlight filtered in through the window that sat above the back of the couch. He cracked open an eye to stare at the offending object that dared disturb his sleep. What big headed idiot forgot to shut the curtains before going to bed last night? Vegeta closed his eye again, letting out an irritated huff, and scowled.

Oh right...that was him.

After the woman and his...companions -he shuddered at the word- had gone off to bed, Vegeta had stood and watched them go out of the corner of his eye. After they had each disappeared into a room, he stayed up to strategize ways to train. Without the woman's damn Gravity Room, he wouldn't get as strong as quickly. He didn't have many options.

A few hours later he had given up and decided to take the woman's advice -not that he would ever admit that out loud- and get some sleep. He found a thin, pink blanket that could help preserve his body heat. However after seeing the color, he had looked for anything else that could serve the same purpose. He didn't want to be caught dead with anything pink. He gave up, though, when it was clear that he was not going to find anything else. He settled himself on the couch and had easily fallen asleep.

Grumbling under his breath, Vegeta flipped himself over so that his back was to the window. ' _Stupid sunlight.'_ He pulled the thin blanket up to his chin and inhaled. He was very comfortable and did not wish to get up just yet.

However, his body tensed before his mind could process the reason why. The air had shifted around him. Something was watching him.

Vegeta clenched his fists under the blanket, readying himself to attack anything that moved. His eyebrows sunk lower on his face as he concentrated on the area around him. He listened for movement. When nothing changed in the atmosphere of the room, he relaxed ever so slightly.

Vegeta growled quietly in irritation. He was now fully awake. With his sleep cycle disrupted, and knowing that he would not be able to fall asleep again, he decided the best course of action would be to get up. He slowly opened his eyes only to see a pair of dark orbs staring back at him.

" _What the Fuck!_ " Vegeta shot up into a sitting position while throwing his blanket to the side. He tried to sling his legs over the side of the couch, but ended up getting them tangled in the pink fabric, causing him to instead roll off the side of the couch while his limbs flailed uselessly to try and catch himself.

His efforts proved unsuccessful as he hit the carpet face down. Vegeta heard movement from above him and then a voice followed shortly after, "Woah! Vegeta are you okay?"

Vegeta's eyebrows twitched into a scowl when he heard the voice. His breaths deepened as his anger slowly rose. He pushed himself off the floor just enough to see the person who had disturbed his peace, confirming his suspicions. ' _Fucking Kakarot…'_

Vegeta hissed out a sigh and closed his eyes, lowering himself back down to the floor. ' _Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away.'_ He thought to himself. However, his hopes were dashed when Goku spoke again.

"Vegeta, can I ask you something?"

Vegeta's immediate reply was, "Go ask someone else. Someone who cares." When Goku made no move to take his advice he added, "Preferably someone who isn't me."

"But you're the only one who can help me."

' _Fuck!'_ Vegeta screamed internally. Instead, he muttered to himself, "Of course I am." He sighed and sat up, untangling himself from the pink blanket that had already given him so much trouble. Then he settled himself on a couch cushion and stared at Goku with an intense glare.

Goku didn't bat an eye at the behavior. This was Vegeta afterall. This type of behavior was normal for him. Goku sat himself of the edge of the coffee table just like he had before Vegeta had awoken. He knit his hands together and set them in his lap. He stared at them, unsure of how to start.

Sensing his hesitation, Vegeta growled in warning. "Out with it!" He demanded.

Goku looked up at the spiky haired prince with a troubled face. He hummed. "It's just...I don't know how." He stated.

"You don't know how." Vegeta repeated.

Goku nodded his head. "Mhm."

Vegeta folded his hands together and leaned forward. He put both of his elbows on his knees while his hands were brought up to rest against his mouth, his thumbs supporting the underside of his chin while his curled fingers rested against his lips as he contemplated the orange covered man in front of him.

Then, he took a breath and stated in a suspiciously calm voice, "First, you wake me from my comfortable slumber. Then, you have the gaul to say you have to talk to me. And now, after I have agreed to do so, you say that you don't know how?" He paused and inhaled slowly, and deeply. "Why don't you just start speaking you simple minded, soft hearted, moron." Vegeta stated scathingly.

However, Goku's only reaction to the hurtful words were to blink owlishly. Then he sighed, his face becoming dark. "I'll try." He said.

"It's just...I don't...I don't understand what I'm feeling." Vegeta's eyebrow twitched. "I just wanted to ask you if you could teach me about the Saiyans." Goku finally stated.

Vegeta blinked. He blinked again. Then he narrowed his eyes, a look of slight disgust covering his face, and blinked once more. "What does your heritage have to do with your silly _human_ feelings?" He asked, mostly confused.

"Well...earlier, when we were in other world, you told me that...that what I was feeling was because of me being a Saiyan and I want to understand why. I want to know why being a Saiyan makes me feel this way." Goku stated, his voice gaining an irritated edge.

Vegeta stared at him, his back straight, and with a blank face. He had tried to get this man child to finally accept the blood that ran through his veins for years, and now he wants to learn because it's convenient for him to. ' _What bullshit.'_ Vegeta thought to himself.

After years of berating the idiot, of his prince demanding he face and acknowledge the blood spilt and the roads paved by their ancestors, and after years of blatantly refusing to do so...now he wanted to learn…

Vegeta's face contorted into an ugly snarl as he hissed, "Too little too late, _Kakarot._ " He made sure to put emphasis on the man's Saiyan name. Then he stood and started to make his way to the kitchen, but stopped short at Goku's plea.

"Vegeta...please." He breathed desperately.

Vegeta turned on his feet to face the other man, a deadly glare in his eyes. "I will come to you if I change my mind." Then he turned his back to the usually chipper man, a clear sign of dismissal. Vegeta heard a defeated sigh escape the other man's mouth, the sound of retreating footsteps followed.

Goku dragged his feet across the carpet down the hallway and to his bedroom. Maybe he could finally get some sleep. Even when the hopeful thought hit him, he knew that the promise of sleep was like a far away dream he had once experienced.

Goku sighed again and bumped his head against the door to his bedroom, letting it rest on the cool wood. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander. What was he going to do? He opened his eyes and let them drop down to stare at the carpet. He had missed out on so much...how was he supposed to catch up to it all?

It would not be easy, that's for sure. He is going to need the help of the other Saiyans if he wanted to keep his sanity. Except, the thing is, one of them absolutely hates his guts, especially now, and he had no idea how to approach the other one; not after so many years. His son felt like such a stranger to him now. His son had grown up and he had not been there to see it happen.

Goku inhaled deeply and slowly let the breath out. He felt a little better; the breath had been refreshing. However, he knew what he really needed right now was a good few hours of sleep. He felt one corner of his lips quirk up at the thought. He straightened himself out and opened the door to his room.

Just as he was about to take a step through the threshold, a voice behind him stopped him from doing so. "So it wasn't a dream after all." Goku turned around to see Bulma standing in the doorway of her own room, still in her pajamas and both her clothes and hair looking disheveled.

"I was afraid when I woke up this morning that last night had been a dream." She paused and brushed some of her tangled hair behind her ear. Then she gave him a bright smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling with the action. "I'm really glad that it wasn't." She laughed, her voice filled with joy. Goku managed to muster up a small smile for her.

"You must be hungry!" Bulma exclaimed after a moment, her hands waving in his direction. She turned to shut her door and then addressed him again. "Let's go to the kitchen so I can whip something up." She walked up to him and shut his door for him, then grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall.

He really did not want to go to the kitchen right now -Vegeta was there- but he just didn't have enough energy or drive to stop the blue haired woman from doing just that. Said woman stopped at the table and deposited him in one of the chairs. "Sit." She said, "I'll start on some breakfast." Then she turned her back on him and started rummaging through her fridge and multitude of cabinets.

Goku rested his chin in his hand as he watched her. She pulled ingredients from shelves and set them out on the countertop. He watched as she pulled a metal bowl from a cabinet under the counter and set it next to the ingredients she had pulled down. She rolled up the long sleeves of her pajamas and then she started to hum a tune as she poured ingredients into the bowl, a small smile on her face.

Goku wondered briefly where Vegeta had gone off to. He was dreading his eventual meeting with the Saiyan Prince again. Goku closed his eyes as his lack of sleep started to catch up with him. He wondered what he could do to keep himself awake. As if reading his thoughts, Bulma offered, "You look tired. Would you like me to make some tea, Goku? I know you don't like coffee."

Goku opened his eyes to look at her. "Yes, that would be great Bulma." He replied.

She nodded at him and busied herself with the tea kettle. "Didn't get a good nights sleep, huh?" She asked.

Goku ran a hand down the front of his face. "Not really." He replied as she pulled several skillets from the drawer underneath the stove.

Bulma set three skillets on the stove and turned on the burners to heat it all up. She pulled the tea kettle off when it started to whistle and poured it into the already prepared tea cups resting on the counter. She brought over a tray of cups to the table, all of them filled with steaming tea, and set it down. "I thought the others might want some too when they wake up. I'm sure they're not far behind us." She explained.

Then she turned and walked back into the kitchen to continue her task. Goku continued to watch her, only because he really couldn't think of anything else to do. He gripped a tea cup in between his hands, waiting for the liquid to cool off a bit before taking a sip. In the past, he had learned that lesson the hard way.

Bulma cracked a few eggs into one skillet while laying down bacon in another. Then she took the bowl she was working with earlier and spooned in what looked like batter into the last skillet. She set the bowl back down on the counter and reached for another appliance in one of the cabinets. After grabbing the rice cooker, she picked up the rice and scooped it into the machine. She added some water and pushed the button to start the cooking process.

"Why rice?" Goku suddenly asked. He didn't really know why. It wasn't like eating rice was an unusual thing for him, even at breakfast. ChiChi used to make it all the time. Sometimes, she would even make a sweet rice to go with their morning meals. He didn't know what prompted him to ask. He just felt like he needed to.

"The rice is only there to fill up my patrons faster. Plus it's cheap." Bulma replied. After a moment, she continued, "There aren't that many resources out there anymore. Not since the androids appeared. More and more people are abandoning their jobs because of fear. Fear that the androids will kill them before they had the chance to really live. They fear that they will die before they find love or whatever reason they choose to fear the androids for."

She paused to scramble the eggs and flip the bacon and pancakes. She then grabbed a giant two glass bowls and two cooking sheets. Then Bulma preheated the oven.

"The only reason we have things like electricity and produce and meat, " She continued, "is because it's given to us by people who are brave enough not to fear them...or -more likely- it's given to us by those who know it's useless to try and run from those monsters, and they dedicate their lives to helping others survive."

Bulma scrapped the eggs into the bowl while she scooped the bacon onto one baking sheet and put the pancakes on the other. Then she bent down to set all three dishes in the preheating oven. After she closed the oven door and started getting to work on another batch, she continued in a wistful tone, "I've gotten used to things like this ya'know?"

She looked at Goku with a strained, but teasing smile. "Being friends with someone like you, you'd have to get used to all the crazy."

Bulma blinked and looked back down at the pans on the stove. Her face became somber as she stated, "It's just...I was never prepared for something like the androids." She kept herself busy with the menial task of cooking breakfast.

"I knew that all of you could have died -I mean hell! It seems like all of you have died at least once before!" It seemed now she was talking to a larger audience, one only she could see in her mind's eye.

"But when all of that happened before," Bulma paused and swallowed convulsively, trying to keep the tears from her eyes and her voice from cracking as she spoke. "Before, we had the Dragon Balls and so when each of you died it never seemed real enough for me. With the Dragon Balls, all of your deaths were inconsequential." She paused and cleared her throat.

"When you died of that heart virus, Goku...that was when death became real for me." Bulma turned to him after she started on a third batch of eggs bacon and pancakes. Tears spilled from the corners of her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. She wiped at them with the heel of her palm and the back of her hand to clear them off her face, but the tears were instantly replaced by new ones. After a moment, she gave up trying to stop them and let her hands fall at her sides. She started to shake.

"You seemed so invincible; all of you did. Then you die of a disease and the others are taken down by mechanical monstrosities! I -I don't- I just- I…" Bulma stopped talking to slow her breathing and hugged herself around the ribs to calm her shaking body.

Goku watched her uncomfortably, unsure of what he should do to help her. Not being able to take looking at her miserable actions anymore, he tore his eyes away from her and looked into his tea. It was no longer steaming. He gripped his cup tighter in his hands. The cup was no longer hot. He took a sip. The tea was ice cold.

Goku turned back to her and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by another voice.

DBZ

Krillin awoke in his bed to smells that were heavenly...or at least that's what he supposed he would think if he actually had a nose. He was stuck with just hearing the sounds of the frying pans on the stove top as their contents sizzled.

Krillin sighed as he took it all in. He couldn't believe what had happened. Part of him really hoped that the past nights events had been a dream. He didn't like the idea of the imminent doom that waited for him and lurked in the dark. The another part of him wasn't really sure what to think of everything.

Should he be happy that he's back on Earth again? Having seen so little of the Earth and what life was like, he didn't really have an answer for himself. From what little of it he had seen...well, it didn't look pleasant.

Krillin took in a deep breath and slowly let it out as he sat himself up on his bed. He swung his legs over the side and set his bare feet on the plush carpet. He curled his toes and smiled as his toes dug into the soft material. ' _Well, I guess there's at least one good thing about being back. The carpets in other world were never this soft.'_ He thought to himself as he continually curled his toes into the carpet.

After a moment, Krillin decided that he needed to start getting around for the day if he wanted any breakfast; he would have to get there before Goku did if he wanted to eat any of it. He put on his gi and headed to the door.

As he was walking down the hallway, he could hear voices -well, one distinct voice anyway. Krillin picked up his pace a bit when he noticed that the voice took on a distressed tone. However, something made him pause at the end of the hallway.

"I was never prepared for something like the androids."

These words made his body fill with shock. He had thought these words many times in death. He was shocked to hear someone else say it. Peeking his head around the corner, Krillin saw Bulma in the kitchen cooking the wonderful sounding meal. This was also shocking since when they were alive, she could never have cooked something so decent. Then he turned his head a little more and saw Goku sitting at the table.

' _Damn it! I'm too late! He's already there.'_ Krillin thought to himself as he scuffed his toes on the floor in a slight pout. However, Bulma's voice kept him from entering. He didn't know why, but he felt that he couldn't interrupt this conversation just yet.

"I knew that all of you could have died -I mean hell! It seems like all of you have died at least once before!"

It was then, that Yamcha and Tien decided to show up as well. Yamcha was making wild gestures and talking gaily to Tien, who didn't seem to be too interested in what the other man was saying. Krillin thought that they were being entirely too loud. There was a dip in Yamcha's speech as he spotted Krillin. "Yo, Krillin, my man!" He called while holding one hand in the air as greeting.

Krillin physically cringed in response and turned around to shush him. " _Shhh!_ " He whispered harshly with a finger to his mouth.

The smile that had been plastered to Yamcha's face -for some reason- was replaced with a confused frown. Tien's face changed from disinterest to one of mild curiosity as he raised one eyebrow. "Why?" He asked.

Instead of answering with words, Krillin waved them over. The duo did as they were told and Krillin stated in a quiet whisper, "I don't think this is a conversation we should be interrupting." The other two men nodded their heads in understanding and then the three of them observed the scene in front of them unfold.

"But when all of that happened before,"

The three men leaned forward further, paying rapt attention to the conversation. They listened very carefully to every word Bulma spoke.

"Before, we had the Dragon Balls and so when each of you died it never seemed real enough for me. With the Dragon Balls, all of your deaths were inconsequential." Bulma paused and cleared her throat. "When you died of that heart virus, Goku...that was when death became real for me."

They could hear the tears as she spoke her next sentence, "You seemed so invincible; all of you did. Then you die of a disease and the others are taken down by mechanical monstrosities! I -I don't- I just- I…"

And that was when she broke down into hysterics. She sounded so heart broken. Krillin's heart broke with her as she cried. Then Yamcha ran forward and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry Bulma!"

Bulma lifted her head in shock while Goku turned around to face the three in the hallway.

"You...how long were you there?" She sniffed.

Krillin sighed and stepped forward, rubbing his smooth, bald head. "Around the time you stated you weren't prepared for the androids." He said.

"Oh-ho." She laughed out nervously while wiping her tear-streaked face. She sniffed again and was about to awkwardly continue with breakfast, but was unable to as Yamcha kneeled before her, taking her hand gently in his own, and caressed the back of her hand softly with his lips. Bulma blinked in surprise.

Krillin, catching sight of Vegeta, turned his bug-eyed look to the back of Yamcha's person and harshly whispered, "Yamcha! Yamcha, stop!" However, his whispered words of warning were ignored.

"I'm so sorry Bulma." Yamcha repeated. "I didn't know you had felt that way." He cast his eyes downward with shame. "I guess I should have fought harder to come back to you." She tensed when he stood and pulled her head into his shoulder in a comforting hug. He let one of his hands rest against her back while the other one rested on the back of her head. He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry." He said again. "For everything." He added.

Bulma felt fresh tears come to her eyes as she heard him speak. She hiccuped as it became harder for her to breathe. Then she buried her face in his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. She clung tightly to the fabric of his orange gi while he shushed her and pet her tangled blue hair.

The pair wrapped in a comforting embrace were oblivious to the change in the atmosphere. Vegeta stood in the threshold of the kitchen, his back to the entrance hall, as he processed what he was seeing.

The beta male -Yamcha- had his arms around _his_ woman! ' _How dare he!'_ Vegeta growled, narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fists. ' _I will kill him for his insolence.'_ He made a move to step forward, but stopped, and visibly flinched, when a loud beeping sounded through the area.

After Bulma had calmed her breathing, she sniffed and gently pushed on Yamcha's chest. He hesitantly let her go and stepped back to look into her eyes. She smiled at him sweetly in thanks. Then, she blinked and sniffed the air around them.

Her eyes widened as she turned to the stove. "Oh crap!" She turned off the burners and quickly got the charred contents out of each pan. "Damn it." She stated. "Oh well, I guess I'll just start again." She sighed and grabbed the skillets to wash them of the rest of the charred pieces that were supposed to be their breakfast. She set the pans in the sink and let hot water run over them. Then she turned off the rice cooker and emptied its contents into the other glass bowl. After depositing the bowl into the warm oven, she leaned her back against it and let out a breath.

Then she flicked her eyes to the other side of the room and offered, "How 'bout some fresh tea, hm?"

"That would be lovely, Bulma." Yamcha stated sweetly in return. Vegeta glared daggers at the back of his head.

Bulma reached for the kettle that still rested on the stove and filled it with fresh water. After getting it started back up on the stove, she moved to the table to grab the cold tea and dumped it down the sink. She set the cups aside and put the skillets back onto the stove. After the burners were hot again, she poured more contents into each one. While she waited for the water to boil, she filled the rice cooker again and started it. After that, she prepared the tea the same way she had before and brought it back over to the table. Once she set it down, Goku, Yamcha and Krillin all moved to grab a cup of the steaming liquid.

However, Vegeta did not make a move to grab one. "You're not going to have any tea, Vegeta?" Goku asked, tilting his head slightly in curiosity.

"No." Vegeta simply stated.

"Well, why not?"

"Because! I don't want any of your stupid tea leaf juice! Got it!" Vegeta huffed, crossed his arms, and inclined his chin. "Plus," He stated, " I'm still angry at you, you imbecile."

"Oh. That's right, hehe." Goku said while rubbing the back of his head.

Vegeta snapped his head back toward the other Saiyan. "You can't seriously tell me you've already forgotten." Vegeta stated with incredulity. Goku only shrugged in response. Vegeta growled at the man with a look of disdain on his face. Then he turned his head away again.

Vegeta's eyes flicked over to Yamcha when he noticed the man fidget in his seat. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the man shift in his seat again. Then he noticed the object of the man's attention. Vegeta's eyes moved a little farther beyond the man and saw Bulma working busily to feed them all.

' _Again!'_ Vegeta roared inside his mind. Vegeta's eyes darkened in fury as he held out his hand to Goku and, without looking at him, said, "Hand me a cup."

Goku looked at Vegeta's outstretched hand, then at Vegeta's scowling face, then at Yamcha when he noticed Vegeta had been staring at him, and then back at Vegeta's outstretched hand. "I thought you didn't like tea, Vegeta." He stated.

"I never said I didn't like it, I just-" After letting out a frustrated growl, Vegeta turned his head to Goku, with wide, furious eyes and yelled, "Just hand me the _fucking_ tea leaf juice already!"

Goku flinched backwards at Vegeta's tone of voice and moved to fill his request. "Alright, sheesh. You don't have to be so mean about it." He slid the cup across the table and into Vegeta's open hand.

Vegeta glared at him for a few seconds before turning his attention to the object of his fury, then took an angry sip from his cup of tea. He shuddered and made a slight gagging sound at the taste. However, he needed to down the rest of the offending liquid. So, like any other man would, Vegeta sat in his spot, glaring daggers at his enemy, and took manly sips from his tea cup. He held the small cup in between both hands as he hunched his back and continued to stare at the beta male. Every time he took a sip of his tea, a slurping sound would ensue.

Goku watched Vegeta until his attention was called to another conversation by Tien, "Hey Goku," He started, "how did you sleep last night?"

"Oh, pretty good." Goku lied.

Tien raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked skeptically, "Then how come you were up so early?"

Before he could answer, Krillin spoke up, "Well, he did use to live up in the mountains. He rose and fell with the sun. That's most likely why."

"Yeah, but I don't think he would adjust that quickly. We've been here for less than 24 hours." Tien stated.

Krillin waved off his concerns. "It's probably just habit. Relax. Here," He slid a cup of tea to Tien in a similar manner as Goku had just a moment before. "have some tea."

Tien reluctantly took the cup and sipped on its contents. He flicked his eyes over to Goku while hiding his lips behind his cup. Goku smiled nervously as his breaths quickened. He didn't understand why he was so nervous at Tiens inquirries. Why couldn't he have just told the truth!

The tense moment was interrupted by slurping, thanks to Vegeta. Goku let out a breath and felt his shoulders sag and his muscles relax with the action. He felt better, but made sure to avoid eye contact with the three eyed man by hiding behind his own cup of tea. Still feeling the residual tension in the air, Goku stated, "Wow, Bulma. This is some great tea."

She looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, but I think you might be overreacting." she stated as she emptied the skillets and refilled them once again.

"N-no!" Yamcha stuttered as his back straightened. "He's not! It really is good."

Bulma smiled a little more, but said nothing, instead choosing to continue on with preparing breakfast. Vegeta glared more intensely at Yamcha, his muscles tightening even more as he violently took a sip of his tea. He had to suppress another shudder.

However, after a moment, Bulma added, "If you need more tea, just let me know."

"Oh, we will. Thank you." Yamcha replied merrily.

Vegeta grumbled unintelligibly under his breath at their interaction while taking sips from his cup in rapid succession every few seconds. No one spoke much after the conversation between Yamcha and Bulma.

That is, until Bulma announced, "Alright, I think breakfast is finally ready." She turned off the burners and reached into the oven to pull out their lovely smelling breakfast. As she walked over to the table with bowls in each of her hands, Yamcha stood up and reached out toward her.

"Here. Let me help." He said.

At the same time, Vegeta stated, "Bulma, I need more tea."

"Thanks." Bulma addressed Yamcha, ignoring -or rather, not hearing- Vegeta. She held out a bowl in the bandits direction, but before Yamcha could grab the first bowl from her hand a cup shattered against the back of his skull. Bulma stumbled back a few steps and almost dropped the glass bowls in surprise. Her wide eyes scanned the table for the culprit. Her eyes landed on Vegeta's outstretched arm.

"Whoops." Vegeta stated apathetically. "My hand slipped."

Bulma scowled. "Vegeta." She growled out.

"What?" He asked. "You said to tell you if I needed more tea."

Bulma inhaled sharply and exhaled with just as much force. She set the heavy bowls down on the table surface and made Yamcha sit back down in his chair. Then she grabbed an ice pack and held it against Yamcha's head. After he took ahold of the cold pack, Bulma turned back to get the rest of the contents from the oven and set them on the table as well.

' _Alpha male-1, beta male...2. Damn. He's still ahead of me.'_ Vegeta thought to himself as he watched Bulma situate herself at the table...right next to the beta male. ' _Fuck! Why!'_ He mentally screamed.

Bulma shifted in her seat and pulled herself closer to the table as she stated, "Alright, guys. Dig in."

The men didn't need to be told twice. Goku and Vegeta were the first ones to the dishes full of delectable foods. The others cautiously grabbed food around the two Saiyans rapid-fire arms. Vegeta never let his eyes stray from Yamcha as he violently shoveled food into his mouth. He watched as Yamcha turned to Bulma and gestured to her. His eyes flicked between the two as Bulma smiled at him and they made small talk with each other. He couldn't understand what they were saying, which really pissed him off.

During their hushed conversation, Yamcha slid his eyes over the table and his face became nervous when they met Vegeta's intense glare. It was even more unnerving that the full blooded saiyan was glaring at him while food was being placed in his mouth at an alarming rate.

Goku wasn't eating with as much gusto as he normally would. If anyone noticed, no one commented. There was a lull in conversation and Bulma seemed to suddenly realize something. She turned her head from side to side, but didn't seem to come across what she was looking for.

"Hey...where's Piccolo?" She asked no one in particular.

"The green bean is outside, the last time I checked, doing only Kami knows what." Vegeta said, surprisingly clearly, in between bites of food.

"That's too bad. Why is he out there by himself?" She asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Vegeta snapped. Then he paused, his whole body going stock still. Everyone else carried on with eat breakfast as he had a mental debate with himself. ' _This is my chance.'_ He thought. ' _If I can manage to impress her enough with my superior charisma and natural charm then the beta male with have no chance!'_

Vegeta snagged a glance at said male, who was happily chatting away with the blue haired woman again, and smirked evilly. However, just as suddenly the smirk appeared, it was gone. ' _Wait.'_ He thought. ' _How do I impress her?'_ He slid his eyes over to look at the woman. She was smiling and laughing at whatever the beta male had told her. He studied her smile. She was quite beautiful.

Vegeta's eyes widened. ' _What the hell was that? I can't be thinking such ridiculous things! I must get her on my side! I must beat the beta male!'_ Then, a plan started to formulate in his mind. He smirked as an idea formed in his mind.

Suddenly, Vegeta set his utensils down onto the table quite loudly, catching everyone's attention and causing the talk to die down. He took a deep breath and proclaimed, "Woman! This meal was adequately prepared and meets the requirements of edibility!" Then he picked up his utensils and started to eat again.

Goku looked at each person sitting at the table before shrugging and also going back to his meal. Bulma stared at Vegeta, not sure what to say to his declaration. Vegeta noticed this and, mistaking her reaction for adoration, smiled proudly and mentally gave himself a pat on the back.

"Um...thanks, Vegeta." Bulma replied drily. After her response, the talk started up again.

Vegeta paused in his eating to chuckle evilly at himself. He closed his eyes and smirked, his head angled downward. ' _Now there's no way in hell the beta male will have a chance with her. Not after my superb compliment.'_ Vegeta huffed out a laugh before opening his eyes and lifting his head, only to find that the blue haired beauty was talking to Yamcha again. ' _What the-'_ His mind went blank as he watched the two interact.

Bulma was smiling and gesturing lightly with one hand while she talked, her other hand supporting her head as she rested her elbow on the table top. She had her body angled toward the scar faced man. Yamcha was listening to her, smiling softly. He was only distracted from her speech when he went to take a bite of his meal. However, his eyes never left her face.

A dark aura surrounded Vegeta as he continued his meal at a significantly slower pace than before. Noticing his friend's odd behavior, Goku leaned towards the Saiyan prince and asked, "What's wrong Vegeta?"

Vegeta clenched his fists, his fingers leaving indents in the utensil, and turned his head to the other saiyan, a dark look in his eyes. He took a breath to speak, but stopped when Bulma stood and lifted her hands above her head, stretching her muscles. Then she spoke.

"Well, I guess I should check on Gohan and Trunks and bring them something to eat." Then she turned around and gathered some of the leftover food onto a tray.

Goku suddenly stood. "Can I come with you too, Bulma?"

Bulma looked at him as she set some fresh tea on the tray. Her lips pulled into a thin line as she contemplated his request. She exhaled heavily at his pleading look and picked up the tray. "Fine, but don't come into the room until I have a chance to explain everything to him." She walked towards Goku and stopped right in front of him. "Promise me you won't go into that room until I give the okay." Goku nodded. "Okay. follow me then."

They made their way down the hall again. Bulma stopped in front of Gohan's bedroom door and addressed Goku again. "You will wait out here and I will come and get you when I've told him." Goku nodded again. Then she opened the door.

DBZ

Gohan's eyes fluttered open. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. He blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the natural light that flooded through the room. Then he heard a voice.

"Stumpy! Look out!" Trunks yelled in a quiet whisper. He was on his side and still had his back against Gohan's side while he played with his bear. Then he proceeded to make explosion sounds while twisting the bear in several directions, in what Gohan thought was, to avoid imaginary missiles and other explosives. That was when Trunks made and exceptionally loud, or as loud as he could get in a whisper, explosion sound and sent Stumpy twirling off the edge of the bed.

"I've got you, Stumpy!" Trunks pretended to reach for the bear as he "fell" off the edge and gripped the bear by the arm. Then Trunks took his other hand and gripped the bear by the shoulder and gently started to pull the appendage apart. He stopped right before the arm could be completely severed from the bear's body.

That's when Gohan decided to speak up. "So that's how Stumpy keeps getting his limbs torn off. And here I thought you were just playing too rough." He said with a soft, but accusatory, glare at Trunks.

At Gohan's voice Trunks jumped and scrambled to face him, almost falling off the bed himself. Gohan quickly caught him with his right arm and secured him on the bed before sitting up as well. Trunks crossed his legs and set Stumpy in his lap. His body faced Gohan, but he refused to meet the older boy's eyes. Instead he decided to play with Stumpy's arms, making sure to be careful with the arm he had just intentionally ripped. Gohan noticed this and asked, "Why did you tear his arm like that?" Trunks' face heated in embarrassment or shame -Gohan couldn't really tell which- but he said nothing. "Is that what happened to his other limbs?" Gohan asked slightly amused.

Trunks' eyes were down cast and so he did not see Gohan's amused look as he nervously played with his bear. He still said nothing. Just as Gohan accepted that he was not going to get an answer, Trunks nervously flicked his eyes up to look at him and started, "Well...yes. I did it on purpose."

Gohan blinked. "Can you tell me why?"

Trunks' cheeks burned a little darker. "Well because I was playing. And he was being flung from an explosion and when you grab someone that's falling that fast, their arms tear." He explained nonchalantly.

Gohan chuckled. "I'm not so sure that's how it works in real life."

"But the androids almost did it to you." Trunks said suddenly.

The comment sobered Gohan up and he became serious. He needed to see how much Trunks knew. "They did?" He prompted.

"Yeah." Trunks said. "Or, at least, that's what mom said. She said that if it weren't for those people, then you probably would have lost your arm."

' _Those people?'_ Gohan thought. "What people?" He asked.

Trunks shrugged. "I don't know who they are, but they saved you and brought you home. Mom seemed to know who they were though. I think they're still here. They spent the night. I talked to the short one. He was nice." Trunks stated.

Gohan contemplated the young boys words. Who could have saved him? And who would care enough about him to stick around? He wasn't sure. There were very few people still alive who would fit that category. Before he could get any farther in his ponderings, his thoughts were interrupted as Trunks asked another question.

"You're not going to tell my mom, are you?" He asked with a silent plea.

Gohan's brow scrunched together in confusion. "About what?"

"About Stumpy. You're not going to tell her, right?" The lavender haired child asked again.

Gohan blinked and unknit his brows. "Not if you don't want me to." He replied.

Trunks breathed out in relief and a small smile graced his lips. He thanked the raven haired teen as he said, "I think mom would be mad at me if she found out."

Both boys turned their head to the bedroom door as it opened and Bulma entered the room. When she saw him, she smiled brightly and said, "Oh, so you are awake. I'm glad." Then she walked into the room and sat the tray of food onto the night stand. After that, she turned around and walked back to the door to shut it. She grabbed the chair that sat in the corner of the room and dragged it to the side of the bed.

Trunks greedily reached for the food as he cast aside his teddy bear. "Grab one for me too, squirt." Gohan said. Trunks grabbed a plate and handed it to Gohan and made a move to reach for another.

"Hey, what happened to Stumpy?" Bulma asked. Trunks froze. She picked up the abused teddy bear to inspect it. She lifted his torn arm up gently and blinked. Then she flicked her eyes to her son who looked suspiciously guilty about something. She raised on blue eyebrow as she slightly inclined her head. "What happened, Trunks?" Bulma asked knowingly.

"Well, his arm sort of ripped." The young boy replied.

"I can see that. I meant how did this happen?" She asked again. Trunks tensed his shoulders and shrank down into the sheets, as if they would protect him from his mother's gaze. Gohan watched the two with slight amusement. When it was clear that Trunks was not going to talk, Bulma sighed and, still gripping the teddy bear, let her hands fall to her lap. "Fine, we can talk about that later. That's not what I'm here for anyway." She said.

Bulma turned her gaze to the teen. Her gaze became serious and wary. This made Gohan pause in consuming his meal to look cautiously look at her. "Gohan, there's something I need to tell you." She took a breath to speak again, but it seemed she couldn't find the right words. She let her breath go and looked at her lap, searching for her words.

Finally, Bulma breathed in deeply and lifted her head again. "What do you remember?"

Gohan blinked and averted his gaze to the blankets that still covered his legs. ' _What do I remember?'_ He thought. He fisted the sheets in anxiety as his memories came back to him with vivid clarity. "I remember being beaten pretty badly by the androids." He looked back up at the scientist. "But I don't remember anything about how I got here. I think I passed out near the end of the fight, but that's all I remember." Bulma was unusually quiet after his statement and that made him uneasy.

Bulma directed her gaze downard and stated, "I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Then she made sure to look Gohan directly in the eye before saying, "Gohan...They're alive." At his confused look, she continued, "Your father is alive Gohan. He's alive." Then she blinked. "Well, actually, he's not really alive, but he's here. And he wants to see you." Bulma said, happiness lacing her voice.

Gohan's eyes drifted away from her to look at nothing in particular as he processed what she had said. An uncomfortable emptiness filled his chest. He said nothing, still trying to figure out what had been said. "Gohan?" Bulma's voice pierced through his blank mind and helped ground him back in reality. "You lie." He breathed out after another moment.

"What?" Bulma said, slightly taken aback.

"You're lying." He said again. Gohan looked back to the blue haired woman before him and stated, "He can't be...here. There's just...no way."

Bulma reached and wrapped her hands around one of his own and said, "Gohan, look. It's hard to explain, but he's-" She was interrupted as Gohan ripped his hand away from her and turned away. She let her hands linger in the air for a few seconds before slowly lowering them. Trunks looked between the two with confusion, but wisely said nothing to either of them and continued to quietly eat his breakfast.

Bulma stared at Gohan as he intentionally did not meet her gaze. She could tell that he was clearly hurt. She always knew that Goku was a sensitive subject, but she wasn't lying. ' _This will be a great opportunity for him.'_ She thought. She sighed heavily and got up. Trunks watched her with mild curiosity. She walked to the door and opened it slightly. She looked as if she were talking to someone on the other side, and Trunks vaguely wondered who it could be.

With her hand still on the handle of the door, Bulma turned to look at Gohan and stated, "I know you don't believe me Gohan, but I'm not lying." Then she swung the door open. "Here's your proof." She moved out of the way so the figure could move inside to room.

Gohan's eyes widened in disbelief and he inhaled sharply, the sound causing Trunks to look at him.

"Hiya, son." The all too familiar figure said gently.

Gohan leaned back slightly and inclined his head. Then he took a breath and quietly huffed out in a small voice, "Dad?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello and welcome to another episode of Heaven is a Place on Earth!**

 **Lol, just kidding, but seriously, thank you for clicking on this chapter. It really means a lot to me. I also want to apologize for the long wait; I wanted to post this chapter yesterday, before July officially ended, but I ultimately wasn't able to meet that goal. On the brighter side! I wanted to let you know/ warn you how long this chapter is.**

 **It's long...**

 **Like... _really_ long. **

**So, I hope that makes up for the lateness.**

 **Originally, I was going to split this up into two parts, but then decided it was better left as a whole. There is a LOT of information in this chapter and in the future I will try not to make the chapters this long (because sometimes I know it can be really hard to get through a longer chapter). Anyway, it is now time to address the comments from the last chapter.**

 **...**

 **To ThickerThanLove:**

 **I'm really glad you're loving the story so far, and you're absolutely right! I love how complicated Gohan's character can be and it just sets up for a good angst story. Goku, I've felt, has never been quite in tune to his emotions and now he's in for it!**

 **As always, thank you for your review and I will try and keep up the good work for you!**

 **...**

 **To DragonCrusader: **

**I laughed exceptionally hard at your comment. I laughed for like...two minutes straight, at least, just running though the injuries Gohan has sustained to his left arm over and over again and then realizing I had done the same in my own story (which only made me laugh harder). I hadn't even noticed until you pointed that little fact out to me. I appreciate the laugh.**

 **And! I don't _hate_ Gohan's left arm! It just happens to be the one that...I don't know...bares the brunt of most attacks?**

 **I don't really know, lol.**

 **Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you enjoy the chapter and the ones that present themselves in the future.**

 **...**

 **And now, on to the chapter!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 4: Father and Son Reunite...and Meet?**

"I know you don't believe me Gohan, but I'm not lying." Then she swung the door open. "Here's your proof."

Gohan's eyes widened in disbelief and he inhaled sharply, the sound causing Trunks to look at him.

"Hiya, son." Goku said gently with a small unsure smile on his face. Trunks' eyes widened and he snapped his head in the stranger's direction to get a better look at him.

Gohan stared at his father. He wasn't aware of the fact that he was barely breathing, nor the fact that his eyes started to burn and water because the last time he had blinked was before Bulma had stood to bring this...man...into the room.

Gohan blink rapidly and took in a deep and shaky breath as he leaned back and inclined his head again. "Dad?" He huffed out in a whisper, allowing the breath to flow from his lungs in an exhaled gasp.

"Yeah. It's me." Goku replied, his vocal cords strained as he felt a swell of emotions envelope him. An involuntary whimper escaped his lips as he tried to keep them from overwhelming him.

Goku licked his lips as a wide smile broke across his face. His breaths quickened in his excitement. He breathed out a few laughs. He held out his arms slightly in a welcoming gesture and took a few quick steps toward his son, but stopped when Gohan flinched backwards. He stood and gently let his arms fall back down to his sides. When Gohan turned his head away and refused to meet his gaze, Goku allowed his shoulders to sag. ' _Did I do something wrong?'_ He asked himself as his brows knit together in hurt.

Little did Goku know that Gohan wore the same expression on his face. ' _Why did he come back?'_ He thought dejectedly. ' _What was so important that he had to come back now? Now that I'm ready to accepted his death; now he wants to come back.'_

Bulma, noticing the tension, thought it would be best to leave the two alone. She flicked her eyes to her son and said, "Trunks," He looked at her, "Let's go to the kitchen. There's more food there and I can get you some fresh tea, or some juice if you'd like." She bribed. Trunks nodded and got up to follow her out of the room.

Bulma turned around to close the door behind them, looking at father and son one more time before doing so. ' _I hope they can figure out whatever this is and rebuild their relationship.'_ She grabbed her son's hand and started walking down the hall. She turned her head to look at the door again. ' _I really hope they can make up. They both deserve to be happy.'_ Bulma sighed and faced forward again. ' _Especially after all that Gohan has been through.'_

"Mom?"

Bulma blinked, "Yes, son?"

"May I have some juice?" Trunks asked.

Bulma smiled softly and nodded. "Sure. If that's what you want."

DBZ

King Kai paced back and forth, his head angled down and his chin caught between his index finger and thumb. His eyes nervously flicked to the spot where he had seen his pupils last and then back to the ground in front of him. Sweat accumulated on his forehead at a rapid rate. He moved to wipe his forehead with a rag to clear it of the perspiration, but ultimately only delayed the onslaught of accumulating droplets.

King Kai cleared his throat nervously and started pacing again. Then he flicked his eyes over to the place his pupils once stood and back down to the ground again. Suddenly, he perked up, his back straightening and his head whipping around in search of the Grand Kai, which he just noticed was not standing next to him anymore. Spotting him, King Kai sagged in disbelief.

The Grand Kai was lounging on a chair, his legs outstretched and ankles crossed, with his hands resting underneath his head. He wore a content smile on his face, watching the clouds pass above him as he hummed a cheerful tune.

King Kai felt his eyebrows twitch with his growing frustration with the other Kai. He wiped at his forehead again before walking towards the Grand Kai. King Kai stopped at the other Kai's feet and growled as the Grand Kai did not acknowledge his presence. "Aren't you worried?!" He suddenly snapped.

The Grand Kai lifted his head to look at the blue skinned deity. "Worried? 'Bout what?" He asked as he tilted his head back again.

"About what…?" King Kai quietly repeated in a whisper. "About the people you sent to Earth! They should be back by now! It shouldn't take this long to observe the situation on Earth, right?!" He yelled.

The Grand Kai lifted his head again and said, "Oh. Them?" Then he relaxed again and calmly stated, "They ain't comin' back."

King Kai's body stilled as dread filled his body. "What do you mean they aren't coming back?!" He yelled. Then he covered his face in despair. "Oh. This is all your fault. You're the one who insisted they go down there. Now they're never coming back. Oh, why has this happened? Oh-ho!" He cried.

The Grand Kai held up a hand and said, "Relax, blue." Then he sat up from his relaxed position to look at the other Kai. "You don' think I wouldda ever sent 'em to Earth if I hadn't seen this commin?"

King Kai snapped his head up to look at the Grand Kai. "You mean...you knew that this would happen?" he asked.

"Of course I knew." The Grand Kai stated in response.

King Kai chuckled in relief. "So...what you said about them being stuck in the physical world...it was just a lie, right? You were just trying to scare them...right? That must be it."

The Grand Kai barked out a laugh. "Oh-ho no. That part was true."

"..."

"If they touch anything in the physical world, except for the things that are unavoidable of course, they will be stuck in the physical world. And after some time, their spirits will start to decay and they will be lost forever."

"..."

The Grand Kai shrugged and waved off his own worries. "But don't worry. I'm sure they'll figure out a way to get back, so just relax. I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

"Somehow, I feel even more anxious…" King Kai mumbled to himself.

DBZ

Goku stared at his son as Gohan played with a loose thread from the blanket. Nothing was said between them, but both were very aware of the others' presence. Goku turned his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Then he flicked his eyes back to his son.

Goku took a breath and grabbed the chair Bulma had previously occupied and turned it around. He sat in it in the same manner he had the night before, with his arms crossed on top of the back of the chair and chin resting on his arms. He really wished Bulma hadn't left them alone. He appreciated that she wanted to help, but he honestly had no idea how to even approach a conversation with his son. She probably knew Gohan way better than he did.

Sadness stabbed him in the heart. But it was true. ' _She probably does know him better than I do. Probably knows more about him than I ever have.'_ Goku thought to himself. He cast his gaze downward. ' _What have I been doing?'_ He thought darkly.

Goku blinked and shifted his eyes to look at his son, only to find that Gohan was doing the same out of the corners of his eyes. Once they made eye contact, Gohan averted his gaze again and Goku huffed in irritation.

Then, suddenly, without looking at him, Gohan spoke, "Why are you here?"

Goku was slightly taken aback by his question. "Well, to see you of course." He answered.

"Yeah. I get that." Gohan stated. He turned his head to face Goku. "But why are you here? On Earth?"

"And I told you, it's because I came to see you." Goku restated. It really wasn't a lie. It's just...Gohan wasn't technically supposed to see _him._

"Why?" Gohan asked. "Why, after all this time, did you decide to come back now?"

Goku didn't really have an answer for him.

"If you could have come back at anytime, why do it now?" Gohan repeated.

"But I didn't even know I could come see you until now. And, actually, I don't think it was the best idea."

Gohan stared at his father. "Why?"

Goku's eyes widened at the clear hurt that laced Gohan's voice. He quickly sat up straight and opened his mouth to defend himself, but was unable to as Gohan said, "Nevermind. I don't need to know."

Goku took a breath to speak, but gave up when Gohan turned away from him. Gohan laid down in the bed and carefully rolled onto his left side, his shoulder protesting fiercely, and found a comfortable position, his back to his father.

"Gohan. I'm sorry. I-"

"Go. Just...leave me alone." Gohan said, pulling the blanket up to his shoulders.

"Gohan, please." Goku tried again.

"Leave." Gohan said harshly.

Goku sighed and stood. He dragged the chair back to the spot it had been in the night before and turned to the door. As he turned the golden handle, Goku turned his head to look at his son from the corner of his eye. His son made no move to stop him from leaving. Gohan really did want him to go. Goku closed his eyes and sighed again dejectedly. He opened and closed the door behind him.

Goku took a deep, refreshing breath and straightened himself out. He pushed his emotions as far down as he could and masked his face, something he only did when in battle. However, after a few steps, Goku's eyebrows scrunched together as he bit his bottom lip. He brought a hand up and rubbed the fabric of his gi top.

His chest felt heavy. That feeling was back again.

DBZ

Bulma walked her son to the table and sat him down. Then she walked to the kitchen to get him the juice she promised him. She set the cup in front of him and ruffled his hair lovingly. She looked up to see that Piccolo had finally joined them and Vegeta propped himself against a wall, arms crossed as always.

"Where's Goku?" Yamcha asked her.

"I left him with Gohan." She replied. "I think they need some time alone."

"Yeah. You're probably right." He stated.

Trunks stared into his glass of juice. He had not yet taken a sip from it. Then he asked, "Is that guy really Gohan's dad?" All heads snapped in his direction. Trunks flicked his eyes from his juice and to the adults in the room. Then he lifted his head. "Well? Is he?"

Krillin put a hand on Trunks' shoulder. "Yeah buddy. He is."

Then Trunks furrowed his brows. "I thought both of Gohan's parents were dead. How did his dad get here?"

"Well, it's a long story little buddy. I'm not sure you'd understand it. Hell, I'm not even sure I understand it." Krillin replied while he laughed and rubbed the back of his head, a trait he had picked up from his childhood friend.

Trunks looked around the room and said, "You all seem to know Gohan pretty well. If you all care about him as much as you claim, how come you haven't shown up until now? How come this is the first time I've seen you?"

Everyone averted his gaze, even his mother. The only one who was comfortable with looking at him was Krillin. Krillin gazed at him with a confident look in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips. "You're wrong isn't the first time you've seen us. This is just the first time you remember seeing us." He stated.

Trunks looked down at the table. "That makes sense, I guess." Then he picked up his glass and took a sip of his juice.

Krillin flicked his eyes over to Vegeta. "Say, Trunks?" He asked, getting the boy's attention. "What do you know about your father?"

Every muscle in Vegeta's body tensed. He was anxious. He didn't even know why he cared what the boy thought or knew about him. Surely the boy didn't want to get to know him. Surely the boy didn't care about him.

With the glass still at his lips, Trunks stated, "Well, mom doesn't really talk about him much. All I know is that I kind of look a lot like him." Trunks set his cup down. "I'd like to meet him thought. Maybe get to know him."

Bulma turned her head in Vegeta's direction. She watched him for a few seconds as if waiting for his to do something. Then her eyes grew sad. She put a hand on her son's shoulder and squeezed. "One day, sweetheart. One day you will." She smiled at him.

Bulma turned her head to look at the Saiyan prince again with a meaningful look in her eyes, as if begging him to speak up. He stared right back at her, a blank look on his face. Not even his usual scowl was present. Then, with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, Vegeta blinked and looked away from her, turning his head to avoid looking at her.

The woman had always been like this; she had always insisted that he spend some time with the brat when he was born. Of course, he had always refused. He hadn't felt the need to spend time with the infant when he could wait and train the boy when he became a little older. That way he wouldn't have to deal with the excretion of bodily fluids and dirty diapers.

Vegeta closed his eyes, flashes of his own childhood and memories of his father coming to stand at the forefront of his mind.

How foolish he had been.

How _foolish_ he was, thinking that the first few years of his son's life did not matter.

Death had really cleared things up for him. It had really put things in perspective and helped rearrange his priorities. He now knew what was important.

Yes, he knew what was important.

But…

Was it too late?

He _is_ foolish if he thought he could somehow create a relationship with his son. The boy didn't even know him. In fact, the boy had survived this long without him. What made him think that the boy even _wanted_ a relationship with him?

Vegeta opened his eyes to look at his son. Trunks was currently taking another sip of his juice as he animatedly watched the adults talk to each other. The boy had said he wanted to know his father, but he could have also said what the others expected to hear.

As he watched his son's eyes flick from speaker to speaker, Vegeta knew he felt unsure; and he hated it. He was unsure if Trunks even wanted to know him and he was selfish to force a relationship on his son.

As if he could sense someone watching him Trunks turned his head slightly to look at Vegeta, his lavender hair shuffling slightly with the movement. They locked eyes and stayed that way until Vegeta had to break the stalemate.

' _Then again…'_ Vegeta thought as he stared into the empty hallway. When he could no longer feel the gaze from the eyes he had inherited from his blasted mother, Vegeta flicked his eyes to stare at his son again.

' _Then again,'_ he thought, his gaze becoming soft, ' _the instinctual pull toward him is nearly impossible to ignore.'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the woman laughing quite loudly. Vegeta tore his gaze from his son and looked at the woman. He took a silent moment to study her.

The last time he had seen her, her blue hair was cut so that it fell just above her shoulders. She had favored straightening her hair then and she had favored a particular style of headbands. That had been a few months after Trunks had been born. Now her hair fell down in messy blue rivulets and stopped just below her shoulder blades. Her bangs were longer than the last time he had seen her; before they fell just below her eyebrows, now they were parted in the middle and long enough to tuck behind her ears.

He watched as she did just that as a bright smile crossed her face, her teeth peeking out from behind her lips. He also noticed that her hair was a few shades darker than he remembered. Before, it had been more of a sky blue, but over the years it had darkened to a cerulean. He wondered, vaguely, why that was.

Her skin hadn't changed much. It was unmarred and still looked as silky as the froth that used to top her espressos.

That was another thing he noticed. Lately all he had seen her drink was straight black coffee, or tea. Her drinks now seem subdued, where as before she had loved to consume drinks that were high maintenance and quite frivolous, in his opinion.

Her attitude was also quite subdued compared to what he remembered. Before he had died, he remembered that she was feisty. She was confident. She was proud. She was fierce. And no matter how she felt, and no matter what she was doing, a fire shinned bright in her eyes.

Now, however…

Even though she still had a fierceness to her, there was no fire in her eyes; no edge to her threats. Even when she had yelled at him recently, her eyes were dull; he had yet to see them ignite.

It made him slightly sad to see her that way; to see the attributes that had garnered their passion which had produced their first child, was nowhere to be seen and it pained him.

It pained him that the woman he loved, yes _loved_ , seemed to be only a fraction of her true self.

Yes...he did love her.

He _does_ love her.

Before, he would have loathed to admit it, but death had cured him of most of his ailments. Like he said, he truly knew what mattered.

This woman, _Bulma,_ mattered.

His son, _Trunks_ , mattered.

 _They_ mattered.

They were _all_ that mattered now.

Well...them and defeating those stupid washing machines.

Vegeta was torn from his musings as everyone's attention drifted to the orange clad warrior who stood quietly in the doorway.

"Goku." Bulma stated awkwardly. He gave a tight smile in return. "What happened?" She whined in slight disappointment and concern.

Vegeta pushed himself off of the wall as Goku sat down in a chair at the table, interested in what the other saiyan had to say. Beside him, Piccolo did the same. He shifted his eyes to look at the green man from the corner of his eyes. Piccolo did the same, except tilting his head in the saiyan's direction, and the made eye contact. In silent agreement to never voice their curiosity, both men turned their attention to the spiky haired man at the table.

Goku sighed and visibly deflated in his chair as he rubbed a hand down his face.

"That bad, huh?" Krillin asked.

Goku blinked slowly and flashed a a small smile at his friend's guess.

"What happened?" Bulma repeated.

Goku's face slowly slipped into a look of insecurity. He drew his lip in between his teeth and began to chew on the soft tissue. The room was eerily quiet, which only served to raise Goku's anxiety. He took a breath, "I think...I think Gohan's...angry with me." He refused to meet anyone's gaze.

"What did you say to him?" Bulma asked, getting slightly impatient.

Goku sighed. "Well, he asked me why I came back. I told him that I wanted to see him, but that I thought that it may not have been the best idea to come here." There was a pause. "I think that's why he's mad at me."

Bulma leaned back in her seat and sighed heavily, her eyes closed, her eyebrows drawn down, and her arms folded loosely across her chest. She opened her eyes to look at her childhood friend. "You really don't think before you speak, do you." She stated more than asked. At her friend's downcast gaze, she sighed softly, closed her eyes again, and exhaled. "Honestly…"

Bulma slowly opened her eyes again. Goku had his face cradled in the palm of his hands, his elbows resting on the table. He rubbed his face and took a deep breath before letting his arms fall to the table. He leaned back in his chair and let his arms rest in his lap, his head hung slightly.

Bulma's gaze softened. She leaned forward in her seat, allowing her elbows to rest on the tabletop, and spoke softly. "Goku." He looked up at her. "Goku," she said again, "Gohan's not angry with you." She said. Goku leaned forward in his seat, appraising a similar position as her, ready to counter her statement.

Bulma held up a hand to stop the man from speaking. "Goku...I've gotten to know your son really well over the past few years." There was a moment of pause. She took one of his hands in both of her own and looked him directly in the eye. "He's not angry with you."

Goku's eyebrows crinkled. "Then why is he so upset?"

Bulma inhaled deeply and straightened out. "Well, without actually seeing him or talking to him I couldn't be too sure. But I think...I think he's angry and upset...with himself."

"Why would that be the case?" Tien asked with a look of disbelief crossing his face.

Bulma's eyes flicked over to Tien and she laughed softly at his question. "It's hard to say." She said. She folded her hands in front of her and she directed her gaze to them, a small smile on her face. "Human emotions and the human psyche are difficult to understand since it's all so diverse, depending on each individual, that most of how it all works it is left up to interpretation." She paused to take a breath and looked at Tien again. "Plus Gohan is only half human, which I'm sure complicates things even more."

Bulma stopped to take a sip of her coffee. "He's also entering some of the hardest years of his life. His body is changing, his thoughts, his emotions -it's all changing. On top of all of that, he has to figure out how to cope with his _dead_ family being alive again. Or...sort of alive." She chugged the rest of her coffee. "Things are just going to be a bit…" She shrugged her shoulders. "...complicated. For a while." She averted her gaze to her now empty cup.

Vegeta, fed up with the uncomfortable silence that had taken over, huffed loudly, gaining everyone's attention, and stated, "Perhaps we could uncomplicate things by first destroying those wannabe superior tin cans." He emphasised his point by hitting a fist against the open palm of his hand and smirking.

Bulma frowned at him and opened her mouth to address him, but was interrupted by Goku as he stood from his chair and addressed the Saiyan Prince, "You're right, Vegeta. We need to see how we fare against the androids."

Bulma stood abruptly, eyes wide in surprise. "You're going to go fight them? Now?" She exclaimed, slapping her hand on the table surface.

"Of course not!" Vegeta snapped back. "We simply wish to train."

Bulma relaxed her stance a little, hand sliding off the table. She huffed and raised an eyebrow. "Good luck with that." She drawled. "There's almost no place for you to train around here." She put her hands on her hips.

Goku shrugged. "Then we'll find someplace else to train."

Bulma stared at Goku with a soft she closed her eyes and sighed. "Fine." She relented. "Do whatever you want." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sauntered down the hallway. "I'm going to go take a shower." She called over her shoulder.

Then, suddenly, her head appeared around the corner into the kitchen again. "And Trunks Is not allowed to train with you. I forbid it." She stated with a cold glare, as if daring anyone to disobey her.

Trunks visibly deflated in his chair while sighing. Vegeta stared at him. He must have planned to ask them to train him when his mother was out of earshot. "Come on, Trunks." His mother beckoned. "You need to get cleaned up and ready for the day as well." Then she was gone again.

Trunks sighed again, his cheeks sporting a healthy shade of pink, and followed behind his mother without looking at the other adults. Goku smiled softly. He remembered taking baths with Gohan when he was younger as well. His smile faded slightly. How bitter sweet those memories had become.

"Let's go, Kakarot." Vegeta demanded walking toward the front door, following behind the others who had made their way to the door already.

Goku took a deep breath and followed.

DBZ

Gohan laid on his back and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He traced the patterns with his eyes as his mind relayed the conversation he had with his father.

" _ **Well, to see you, of course."**_

The tone in his voice...when he said that…

Gohan blinked.

He sounded almost...hesitant?

Was he afraid?

' _Was he afraid of how I would react?'_ Gohan wondered.

He blinked again. His father had never really been afraid, as far as he could remember. However, the memory of his father on Namek, in all of his super saiyan glory, flashed through his mind. Had his father been afraid then?

Gohan closed his eyes and mentally scoffed. ' _Right…'_

There were many times throughout his life when he thought his father was just as afraid as he was when facing certain situations, but it wasn't until after his father had died...it wasn't until then that he really understood what his father felt during a fight.

If he had been afraid, it was most likely overshadowed by excitement. By bloodlust. By the thrill of the fight…

And Gohan understood.

Many times he felt the exact same when facing the androids. He felt insurmountable fear when facing them, but he could also feel his body itching in excitement at the prospect of their fight. Most of the time, his fear was buried beneath the anger and loss that he was reminded of every time he saw their faces and the need for a good fight.

The fact that the androids were stronger than him frightened him. And excited him.

The fact that the next time he fights the androids could be the last time chills him to the bone, yet his skin tingles and warms with excitement.

It was like his body was at war with itself. That's how his mind felt too.

' _Sometimes, I wonder if I'm just going crazy.'_ Gohan thought to himself. He opened his eyes.

" _ **...I don't think it was the best idea."**_

That one line echoed through his head and bounced around in his skull. It seemed the harder he tried not to think about it, the more frequent the thought became and the louder it seemed to echo.

Gohan closed his eyes again.

Was his father disappointed in him?

Did he regret coming back?

Is that why…

" _ **...I don't think it was the best idea."**_

How was his father even alive anyways?

That thought seemed almost funny compared to everything else. It was just like his father to defy all logic. Sometimes Gohan thought it was because his father _had_ no logic in the first place. He liked to think things through with his fists instead of his brain. That's how it had always been.

The question is _how_ had his father come back? That was something he should ask the man next time they spoke -which was whenever Gohan felt like he wanted to speak to him again. Frankly, after their first conversation, Gohan was not inclined to have another conversation with him. Not after what he had said.

" _ **...I don't think it was the best idea."**_

Gohan closed his eyes and shook his head. ' _Gah! I have to get that stupid thought out of my head.'_ But even after all of his head shaking, the thought still reverberated in his mind.

" _ **...I don't think it was the best idea."**_

Resigned, Gohan opened his eyes again and sighed. His flicked over to his bedroom door when the congregation of ki's started to split up. ' _What's going on?'_ he asked himself.

Gohan had kept a close eye on his father's ki when he left the room after their conversation. His father's ki traveled down the corridor and into the kitchen to meet up with a bunch of other familiar ki's. Gohan had mentally kicked himself. He should have been able to sense them when he first woke up. That was one of the things Piccolo had drilled into him when they first trained together. If only Piccolo could see him now…

Well...actually, he could. If Piccolo did come see him, Gohan was sure that he would see the undisguised disappointment and disdain on his face.

He never needed to use his sensed to find the androids because, one, they don't have energy signatures and, two, they usually found him first. As a result, that skill had become rusty. However, he still used it from time to time when he wanted to keep an eye on Trunks, or, like now, when he was wary of the newly revived people and wanted to make sure none of them entered his room without his consent.

Gohan noticed that Trunks and Bulma's energies were headed in his direction. However, he also noticed that his father and his friends were going in the opposite direction. Then, their energies blasted off and grew further and further away by the second.

The only thing Gohan could think was that his father was leaving...again.

' _Well, it's to be expected. Dad never could stay in one place for very long.'_ Gohat thought bitterly.

Gohan sighed for what felt like the millionth time in the past twenty four hours and turned onto his side. He knew he shouldn't be so upset over the small fact. His father probably had more important things to do than to babysit his disappointment of a son all day. ' _Maybe I should try and get some sleep.'_ With that in mind, Gohan closed his eyes and relaxed his body. His father's words rang through his head one last time before he fell asleep.

" _ **...I don't think it was the best idea."**_

 **DBZ**

Bulma tilted her head and used a towel to squeeze her hair dry. She bit back a smile as she watched her son struggle with putting on his pants. "Sweetheart if you had just dried yourself off completely like I told you to, then you wouldn't be having so much trouble." She pointed out, her voice full of amusement.

Trunks huffed indignantly and threw his hands into the air at his mother's words. "I know mom!" He snapped. Then he went back to adjusting his pants.

Bulma covered her mouth to stifle her laughs. She knew he was anxious to get back to Gohan's side. The two were inseparable. She was mostly grateful for that. It meant that, as long as Gohan was around, Trunks would never be lonely. They got along so well and she was so grateful. She wasn't sure what she would do without Gohan's help.

This time Bulma did laugh; her son had finally successfully pulled his pants on and was now struggling with rolling his damp shirt onto his torso. She was busy pulling her own hair into a braid, and far too entertained, to offer him any help. When she was finished, she flicked her braid onto her back, pulling loose a few strands to frame her face. When she was done, she put her hands on her hips.

Trunks grunted loudly as he managed to settle himself into his clothes. Then he inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly.

"You ready to go see Gohan now?" Bulma asked her son with a smile. His answer was to run past her and into the older boy's room. She chuckled and shook her head as she followed her son.

However, her smile immediately vanished when she saw the state her adopted son was in. Trunks stood at the side of Gohan's bed, holding the young man's arm. He turned his head to look back at her, his features marred with both concern and fear. "What's wrong with him, mom?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Bulma frowned and stepped forward. She stood behind her son, not having the heart to move him aside, and scanned Gohan with her eyes. She noticed the gauze on Gohan's cheek was dotted with red. His face was pinched in pain, his hands clenched with fistfulls of sheets and blankets. One of his arms was draped across his abdomen while the other was resting by his side. She reached over her son to try and pry the bedding down a bit to get a better look at Gohan's recent injuries, but she couldn't get them any farther down than just below his chest.

' _He could just be having a nightmare. Those aren't uncommon for him.'_ She thought.

Bulma huffed out a breath and flicked her eyes back up to Gohan's face. His forehead was persperated with sweat, another piece of evidence to support her nightmare theory. However, she didn't completely believe that's what this was.

Usually when Gohan had a nightmare he was panting, sweating, thrashing about, and he was usually quite verbal. Right now, though, he was quiet, stiff, and he was taking short, shaky breaths. This wasn't right.

Bulma brought a hand up to rest against Gohan's forehead. He was sweaty and clammy, but didn't seem to be running a fever. Coming to a decision, she removed her hand and looked down at her son. "I'll be right back, Trunks. I'm going to get some medicine to help him sleep."

He nodded in response. With that, Bulma turned and went to the opposite side of their generously sized house to retrieve the proper medical supplies. This time when she returned to Gohan's side, she did move son. He walked to the other side of the bed to get a better view of what she was doing.

First, she grabbed a needle and a bottle of clear liquid. "This is Novocaine." She explained as she popped the needle into the top of the bottle, knowing her son wanted to know. "This will help with the pain he's feeling which will help him get better rest." Having prepared the needle, she took a tourniquet to Gohan's arm. Finding a now plump vein, she stuck the needle in and injected the pain killer. "This should start taking effect almost immediately." She stated.

True to her word, Gohan's body almost instantly relaxed. He let out a shaky breath before his breathing steadied.

Bulma threw the needle away and set the bottle aside before reaching for the gauze that covered a great portion of his cheek. She peeled it away gently and hissed through her teeth at the redness of the skin around the stitching. She tossed the guze away and carefully prodded his cheek with her finger. She winced slightly. The skin was stiff and hot to the touch.

"What's wrong?" Her son asked.

Bulma clicked her tongue. "Just the start of an infection." She turned to her other supplies and grabbed a small white tube. "This is antibiotic cream. It should help prevent the infection from getting worse and help reduce the swelling." She spread the cream delicately over the affected area. Then she took a new pad of gauze and redressed the area.

When she was done, Bulma grabbed a chair and settled down next to Gohan's bed while Trunks climbed onto the bed and scooted as close as he could get to Gohan. She sighed as she gazed at Gohan's now relaxed face. ' _Hopefully I did the right thing.'_ She looked at her son, who was drawing invisible patterns into the blanket with his finger, and let her mind wander.

How much would be different if Goku had just survived that damn heart virus?

Bulma closed her eyes, determination settling into her features. She opened her eyes and addressed her son. "Trunks," he looked up at her. "I'm going down into the lab to work on some stuff. Will you be okay up here by yourself for a while?" He nodded. "Okay."

Then she got up and gathered the medical supplies she had brought with her. "Don't leave Gohan's side and if, for any reason, you need something, wake Gohan up. He shouldn't be too difficult to wake up, even with the novocaine running through his system." She stated. Then she looked her son in the eye. "Understand?"

Trunks nodded once again. After another moment, making sure she made herself clear, Bulma nodded as well and turned to leave the room. She turned back to close the door behind her and smiled as her son curled up against Gohan. "I love you son." She stated sweetly.

Trunks lifted his head slightly to get a look at his mother before replying. "Love you too mom." Then he settled himself in a comfortable position.

Bulma took in the scene for another moment before quietly closing the door and heading down the hallway.

If Goku had survived that stupid heart virus, Gohan wouldn't be so unhappy all the time.

If Goku had survived that blasted heart virus, Trunks wouldn't be so lonely all the time.

If Goku had survived that damn hear virus, they wouldn't be in so much pain all the time.

 _She_ wouldn't be in so much pain.

Bulma stopped in her tracks at the thought. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling as though all the energy in her body seeped out of her. She didn't even realize that she was, indeed, in pain. She thought she had gotten over the pain a long time ago.

Maybe when they had some back, they had also opened old wounds and reawakened feelings that she thought she had dealt with.

Bulma tightened her lips at the sudden sweep of emotion that befell her. She made it a point to take even breaths as she felt tears spring to her eyes.

If this is how Gohan felt when he had talked to his father earlier then Goku had royally screwed up this time.

Bulma took a deep breath and blinked back her tears, refusing to let them fall. Then she fell back into step with renewed purpose and a steely resolve.

She would make sure that this would never happen.

 **DBZ**

Fists clashed in a battle royal between allies. Their bodies invisible to the normal human eye. Shockwaves from the power excreted in the match were the only major signs of disturbance in the area.

The only figure that was visible was that of Yamcha, who was sitting on the ground. His legs were outstretched and his hands were behind him. Leaned back, Yamcha had his head tilted toward the sky, watching the intense battle going on above him. Soon to join him, though, was Tien, who was knocked out of the sky and sent careening towards the Earth below.

Tien tried as hard as he could to get his bearings enough to slow his descent and avoid the impending earth below him. However, he was unable to stop his momentum and he hit the ground with enough force that a small and shallow crater formed upon impact.

Yamcha tore his attention away from the fight in the sky and to Tien, who was sitting in the shallow crater and rubbing the back of his neck to ease the kinks that had formed. Tien stood and cracked his neck to relieve some of the pressure that had settled there. Then he made the short trek to where Yamcha was seated.

"Well this was unexpected." Yamcha stated as Tien got closer. "I was ready to put money on Krillin being the next one out." He stated with an amused smile.

Tien sighed, but returned the smile. "Yeah, well, I guess we should have thought twice about the 'touching the ground is out of bounds' rule. Plus," He stated, tilting his head back to observe the now two-way fight between Goku and Krillin, "it's hard to win a fight when you're up against someone like Goku."

Yamcha laughed heartily, his attention back on the fights as well. "Ain't that the truth."

Goku was still in his base form and giving Krillin one of the hardest challenges he had ever faced. Fists flew at each other at a rate that was hard to keep up with. Krillin smiled triumphantly as he successfully landed a punch to Goku's cheek. However, his smile quickly vanished when Goku retaliated with a punch of his own to Krillin's chest, knocking him backwards.

Goku chased after him, not ready to relent his barrage quite yet. Krillin regained his bearings enough to rub out the pain that was inflicted upon his chest, but was then unprepared for the next punch that came. Goku imbedded his fist in Krillin's cheek, knocking the shorter man back even further. Goku gave chase once again, phazing behind his childhood friend and kicking out with both feet, connecting, with quite a bit of force, with the monk's upper back and sending him spiraling toward the ground.

Krillin was not lucky enough to recover and hit the ground with full force, creating a deep crater a few feet from Tien's. Goku sped toward the ground as well, a slightly panicked look on his face. When he reached to crater, Goku stopped just before his feet touched the ground, still very aware of the rules. "Krillin!" He exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

Krillin pulled himself up and looked at his friend, managing to give him a thumbs up and a weak, reassuring smile. Goku huffed in relief, his face cracking into a hesitant smile as well. Then he rubbed the back of his head in a familiar gesture and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much power I had put into that last kick." He lowered his arm, his smile fading. "I'm glad your okay." He stated seriously.

"I'm fine. In quite a bit of pain, but nothing I haven't felt before and certainly nothing I can't handle." Krillin replied. Goku gave him a sheepish smile before tilting his head slightly to get a better look at the battle happening directly above them. Krillin noticed this and smiled. "Go." He said, gaining Goku's attention again. "Go ahead." He stated again, jutting his head in the direction of Piccolo and Vegeta. "Your blood demands it of you." He joked seriously. Goku chuckled and after another second, after getting another reassuring smile from his friend, he did as he was told.

Yamcha and Tien winced a bit at Krillin's appearance and gave him sympathetic looks as he trudged his way toward them. He gave them a weak smile of his own in return. He was hunched over and clutching his left shoulder, with many bumps and bruises already beginning to form. He collapsed to the ground on the other side of Yamcha still clutching his arm.

"Having a rough time there, buddy?" Tien asked.

Krillin chuckled, then winced. "A bit."

"Too bad we don't have any senzu beans with us." Yamcha remarked off handedly.

The remark made each of them stop, a sudden silence falling over them. Only the sounds of the fight above broke the tense moment; however, the three of them were reluctant to speak. Each man turned their attention back to the fights happening in the sky. Goku was positioned to the side as he watched Vegeta and Piccolo fight. They watched the fight play out, unsure of which man would be victorious, but having a good clue. The tense moment seemed to have passed and the subject dropped. That is, until Krillin spoke, almost inaudibly.

"I wonder if Korin is even still alive."

Tien slightly turned his head to the side to look at Krillin out of the corner of his eyes. Krillin had his knees drawn up and was hunched over, his arms resting on his knees and his head hung between his legs. He was staring at the ground. Yamcha also had a leg up, his arm resting on it, the other one still behind him holding his weight, and had his gaze set in front of him, staring out into the vast open space that was littered sparsely with trees.

"I hope so." Tien said, shifting his gaze back to the fight. Yamcha gazed at him in curiosity. Krillin was sluggish to follow suit, but Tien refused to look at either man and instead focused his attention above him.

Goku floated off to the side as he watched the two fight, knowing they didn't want to be interrupted. Piccolo and Vegeta stayed in relatively the same spot as they exchanged blows. It stayed this way for several minutes. It was evident that Vegeta was getting increasingly frustrated with their stalemate, his face contorting into a fierce scowl. Piccolo's face, however, stayed relaxed and stoic as it had since the beginning of their fight, which was only adding to Vegeta's frustration.

Finally, Vegeta yelled out as he forced one of his punches through the Namekian's defence. Piccolo was knocked backward slightly, but was able to recover in time to parry another one of Vegeta's attack. He retaliated with a kick to Vegeta's side, but was blocked by Vegeta gripping his ankle and throwing him to the side. Vegeta chased after him and phazed above the Namekian, intending to deal the finishing blow. Vegeta raised both hands into the air, intending to jackhammer Piccolo into the ground, but was stopped once again as Piccolo dodged the attack and instead jackhammered the Saiyan Prince.

Vegeta stopped himself just before hitting the ground and looked back up at the Namekian, fists clenched and growling in anger. Goku took that moment to float down to the other saiyan. He stopped almost right in front of the Saiyan Prince.

"Vegeta, I know how frustrated you must be right now, but this is just a friendly match. You don't need to be so-" Goku had begun, but widened his eyes in fear and he squeaked as he was forced to dodge the other saiyan as he suddenly screamed propelled himself forward.

Vegeta met Piccolo back in the air and their annual exchange of blows commenced. Piccolo was once again victorious in landing a punch to Vegeta's cheek. Vegeta was slightly stunned, but was able to bring up an arm in time to block the kick that would have surely sent him into a dizzy spell.

"You think you're better than me?" Vegeta yelled as he shoved Piccolo's leg away. "Me? The Prince of all Saiyans?!" Vegeta growled as he clenched his fists and got into a horse stance. The air grew heavy as Vegeta started to power up. "I'll...show you!" Then he screamed, powering up as far as he could in his base form. He wanted to save his super saiyan form for his impending fight with Kakarot.

After he was done powering up, Vegeta decided to take the lead and deal the first blow. His fist imbedded itself in the Namekian's torso, severely stunning him. Vegeta capitalized on his lead and followed up with a spinning kick which connected with the green man's ribs. Piccolo was able to stop himself from spinning out of control, but was not prepared for the Saiyan prince to grab him by his midsection. Vegeta flew high into the sky with Piccolo as fast as he could. With the speed at which they were going, the Namekian was unable to control his flimsy limbs long enough to extract the Saiyan from his body.

Vegeta only slowed long enough to change direction and propel them both towards the ground. When they were only meters from meeting the Earth, Vegeta let Piccolo go and imbedded both of his feet into the other man's abdomen to ensure the subsequent collision. Vegeta smirked as his enemy fell.

Goku yelled in surprise as he was once again forced to dodge another flying figure. Piccolo's collision had enough force behind it to kick up a large dust cloud. Goku flew back and crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the flying debris. After a moment, the dust started to settle and Goku thought it was safe enough to drop his arms. He did so hesitantly. Goku blinked and slowly made his way to the large crater that had been formed. He peered over the edge expectantly and then floated into the crater to get a better look.

Piccolo was imbedded in the tough dirt and bits of said dirts fell from the sky and landed on top of him. He seemed to be unresponsive. Goku thought he was unconscious, but was proven wrong when Piccolo's fingers and eyes twitched. Goku peered down at him in curiosity as Piccolo groaned as he tried to pull himself into full awareness. Goku straightened himself and smiled as Piccolo was able to pull himself from the dirt.

"How ya feelin' Piccolo?" Goku asked.

Piccolo gave him a slight glare, but was unable to answer as Vegeta floated down next to Goku. He smirked as the Namekian glared harshly at him. Vegeta chuckled and then said, "Well, well, well...face down in the dirt and consorting with third class fools. Now who's superior?"

Piccolo growled, but wisely said nothing. Goku flew in front of Vegeta, a frown marring his features, before he could instigate another fight with Piccolo, which earned a growl of his own from the prince. "Vegeta. You don't have to be so harsh. Like I said before. This is a friendly sparring match. No one is supposed to get seriously injured." Goku stated seriously.

Vegeta flicked his eyes over to the Namekian who had yet to make his leave, and smirked again. "I showed you, didn't I? And you know what?" He asked darkly, his eyes sliding to look Goku directly in the eye. "I'll show you too."

With that, Vegeta's power once again exploded from his body, but he made sure to stay in his base form. Goku followed his lead. There was no yelling, no horse stances, instead, both contestants stood straight and stared at each other with determined frowns, sizing each other up. Then, almost chest to chest, Goku and Vegeta rose into the air. Piccolo took this time to take his leave. He used the small amount of energy he had left to float over to the other observers.

Without warning, both Goku and Vegeta started throwing punches. Shockwaves shook the ground below them, but neither one cared enough to notice. Goku was the first to break the stalemate as he flew backwards, arms outstretched and releasing a barrage of energy blasts. Vegeta flew after him, dodging the blasts or hitting them away. Realizing that his tactic was not working, Goku stopped firing blasts and prepared for Vegeta's attack.

Vegeta rammed into Goku, throwing a punch at his face. Before the blow could land, though, Goku crossed his arms in front of his face and blocked it; however, he was thrown backward with the force. This time, it was Vegeta's turn to initiate a barrage of ki blasts. To avoid being hit Goku propelled himself toward the ground. Looking back, he saw that the blasts were following his path.

Goku pulled himself up just before he hit the ground and flew just above it. He could feel the blades of grass tickling his bare arms and chest. Speeding up, Goku propelled himself up again and, before Vegeta could counter, head butted Vegeta in the chin. Severely stunned, Vegeta was unable to stop the punches that the orange clad warrior delivered to his midsection.

Goku punched Vegeta multiple times before spin kicking him, the heel of his foot connecting with Vegeta's temple, and following up with a small Kamehameha. Vegeta flipped himself and landed, kneeling, on the ground.

Krillin perked up at the observation. "Hey, that means Goku won right?" He exclaimed happily.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling that rules don't mean anything to them right now." Tien stated.

"He's right." Piccolo said, drawing the attention of the others. "The rules play no part in their fight now. Now they're fighting like true warriors; all or nothing."

Krillin tensed. "You mean, like a fight to the death?"

Yamcha chuckled. "Well, considering they're already dead, I'd say no." He paused to look at Krillin. "Not that we would let that happen, even if we were all alive." Then he turned his attention back to the fighting grounds. "They're fighting how they've always fought each other, but they won't kill each other. As long as Goku wins, Vegeta will back off."

Krillin let out a breath, but didn't feel that reassured. Then he too turned back to the fight.

Vegeta tilted his head back to see Goku peering down at him from the sky. He scowled when he noticed that the man's arms were down by his sides. Vegeta clenched his fists and his scowl deepened as a rage like no other gripped his heart.

Kakarot had let his guard down.

Vegeta let his head hang as he closed his eyes and focused on his breaths, which were now coming in hard and heavy. ' _How dare he?!'_ Vegeta roared mentally. ' _How dare he make a mockery out of me?!'_

Vegeta roared, turning super saiyan, and jumped into the air, pushing himself forward toward his enemy. Vegeta pulled back a fist, ready to strike as he neared his opponent. Goku's eyes widened and he flew back to gain a few feet of distance, but did not bring up his arms in time to block the upper cut that was thrown at him. In a fit of rage, Vegeta let loose many punches across Goku's body, the other man was not able to defend himself.

This continued until Vegeta knocked Goku back with a forceful blow to the sternum. The wind left Goku's lungs painfully and he was unable to recover fast enough to dodge the next strike.

"What's wrong Kakarot?" Vegeta asked snidely as he whipped his leg out. "Am I not good enough for you?!" He roared.

Goku felt a few ribs crack when Vegeta's kick connected with his rib cage. He spiraled away clutching his midsection and unable to retaliate. Vegeta pursued him. He flew underneath Goku's spinning body. "Fight me seriously, Kakarot!" Then he kicked out with both feet, imbedding them in Goku's spine.

Goku flew up into the sky, above the clouds. His body was in a world of hurt, but he wanted to focus on getting oxygen back into his lungs before anything else. ' _Better hurry though.'_ He thought to himself.

"Come on, Kakarot!" Vegeta yelled as he caught up with the younger saiyan. He knitted his hands together and raised them above his head. "Fight me!" He brought his hands down and hit Goku square in the chest once again.

Goku fisted his chest, his face contorted in pain. He opened one eye and tilted his head to look at the other saiyan above him. Vegeta had one hand outstretched in his direction. Palm flat and fingers together, he started to charge an attack that was sure to maime Goku if he didn't get himself together quickly. Goku straightened his neck and, after evening out his breaths, he focused on slowing his descent.

"You will fight me seriously." Vegeta demanded, his voice only audible to himself. Then he yelled, "Big Bang Attack!" and his energy was released.

Goku could feel the energy barreling toward him at a rapid pace. He needed to act now. Finally able to stop himself, Goku righted himself in the air. He looked up just in time to see Vegeta's attack was right upon him. Goku put his arms in front of him and caught the blast; there was little else he could do. He struggled with the power imbedded in it. He was being pushed back. Instead of concede, and give in, though, Goku screamed as he fought against the force of the blast.

After a moment, his body was forced into transforming and Goku easily pushed the blast back with the added boost of strength. Vegeta was forced to side step and dodge his own attack. After he watched it disappear from view, he smirked and slowly turned his head to look back down at Goku.

Goku was panting by the end of it, bathed in his super saiyan aura. He looked up as Vegeta floated down and stopped in front of him. He tried to catch his breath as he eyed the other saiyan.

Vegeta's smirk deepened as he gazed at his rival, finally satisfied that the other man had followed his lead and turned into a super saiyan. Vegeta crossed his arms. "Good. Now the fight can really begin."

Goku's face hardened and he fell into a fighting stance. Vegeta chuckled darkly and followed suit.

 **DBZ**

It had been a few hours since his mother had left him with his big brother. Trunks had spent that time daydreaming and similarly passing the time until Gohan woke up. However, when it seemed that Gohan would not wake up any time soon Trunks had found himself drifting off.

Trunks had closed his eyes, ready for sleep to take over, when he was jolted awake. He shot up in the bed, his heart in his throat and whipping his head about, trying to figure out what had woken him out of his semi-conscious state. After scanning the room, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Trunks was satisfied that he had merely imagined whatever had woken him up. Content with the thought, Trunks settled back down, taking a deep breath, and closed his eyes again, ready for sleep to take him. However, before he could even start to drift off again, his sharp ears heard footsteps.

Trunks sat up slowly this time, vaguely wondering if it was his mother who had just come back from the lab. The theory was quickly thrown out the window, however, as he heard the heavy footfalls of the current occupant of the other room, he knew that it was not his mother. His mother did not walk around that heavily. And, from the sounds of it, there were multiple sets of footsteps in the other room. As far as he knew, his mother was not expecting guests.

With an apprehensive look on his face, Trunks turned to Gohan. "Gohan." He whispered harshly. When that didn't work, Trunks put his hands on Gohan's abdomen, mindful of his still present injuries, and shook him a couple of times. "Gohan, wake up." Gohan groaned slightly and his eyes fluttered, but he did not come to full consciousness. His eyelids closed and he was once again lost to the land of dreams.

Trunks tried again to rouse the older boy. "Gohan...wake up." He demanded weakly. "Please." He added as an afterthought.

It became apparent to Trunks that the other boy was not going to wake up. So, taking a deep breath, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He thought about going to get his mother, but was deterred by the fact that the footsteps were coming from the living room; he would have to pass them to get down to the lab.

Coming to the conclusion he would have to face this situation by himself, Trunks slid off the bed and cautiously, and as quietly as possible, made his way to the door.

 **DBZ**

Goku and Vegeta faced each other, both were hunched over and their chests heaving with the exertion from their super saiyan battle. Despite their long fight, their super saiyan aura still pulsed brightly with power.

Vegeta, forcing his breaths to even out, straightened himself and gave the other saiyan a smirk. Then he chuckled. "It seems our warm up round has gone on long enough, Kakarot."

"T-Their warm up round?!" Krillin stuttered. "You mean...they haven't been fighting seriously?!" He exclaimed.

"I...I guess not." Tien stated, just as amazed.

"You're joking...right?" Yamcha laughed nervously. When no one answered him, a bewildered look covered his face. "You can't be serious! What happened to not getting 'seriously injured'?!"

Piccolo scoffed, closing his eyes in an annoyed scowl. "Have you ever even met Goku and Vegeta? Injuries don't matter to them during a fight." Then he opened his eyes and looked at both of the golden saiyans. "If given the chance...they might even fight to the death." He stated, a bit unnerved.

"Can they even do that? Ya'know...since they're already dead?" Yamcha asked, recalling an earlier, and similar, conversation.

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "We're about to find out."

Goku, finally catching his breath, also straightened himself, his eyes never leaving his opponent. He too smirked. "I think you're right Vegeta." He stated with satisfaction.

Vegeta's smirk deepened with dark amusement. "Then how's about we get round two started?" He sunk down into a fighting stance.

Goku's only response was to 'hmph', his smirk never leaving his face, as he too settled into a fighting stance.

Looking back and forth between the two saiyans and the friends beside him, Krillin asked, "At what point do we stop them?" And when he received no answer, " _Can_ we even stop them?"

After a moment, Piccolo tensed and repeated, "We're about to find out."

That was when Goku and Vegeta exploded into action. They tore through the air towards each other while letting out a mighty roar, the ground below them tearing from the Earth as well. They each pulled back a fist, getting ready to be the first to strike their opponent. The ground exploded, creating a large crater, as their fists met each other in the air. Both men growled and grit their teeth, pulling back another fist.

 **DBZ**

Trunks tiptoed to the bedroom door and gently opened it. However, he winced when it creaked slightly and he waited, with baited breath, for what he was sure were scavengers to run down the hall at him. When nothing happened, Trunks let go of the breath he was holding and calmed himself before quietly shuffling into the hallway.

He could hear their voices now, the low murmurs that they were, as he shifted cautiously down the hallway. He grew apprehensive as he drew closer to the living room and was thankful that his socks helped muffle the sound of his footsteps against the hardwood flooring. He slowed his pace once he neared the open end of the hallway. He stopped suddenly, heart in his throat, as he watched multiple shadows dance across the walls of the living room.

"There doesn't seem to be much in here, Stella." The voice of a man rang out against the silence.

"Just keep looking." A harsh sounding woman said. "We don't leave here until I say we do." She said.

Curious, Trunks lowered himself to his hands and knees and carefully peeked his head around the corner. He quickly shrank back, however, when he spotted someone, scared that they had seen him as well, but when nothing happened he cautiously stuck his head back around the corner. He could now clearly see the assailants. There were four in total; one female, Stella he assumed, and three males. Thankfully they were all faced away from him. He took this time to quickly shimmy his way across the floor, on his hands and knees, and behind the sofa. He crawled to the far end of the couch, closest to the intruders, and cautiously poked his head out from behind the piece of furniture to get a better look at the strangers in his home.

The three men were crouched down, one was searching through the mess on the floor -a mess that they, no doubt, made themselves-, another was pulling out desk drawers and emptying their contents, while the last, who had stood up during Trunks' observations, was peeking down the corridor of the hallway opposite of Trunks.

The first man had on a white button up shirt -that looked surprisingly clean-,which was currently unbuttoned, underneath a white tank top which was stained with sweat, tan colored cargo pants, and green combat boots. His head was clean shaven and he bore no facial hair. He was armed with only a small handgun that he held in one hand while he continued to rummage through loose papers and other items littering the floor.

The second man was dressed similarly to the first, except his button up was black and his chest was bare of any other cloth. This man was also adorned with tan cargo pants and black combat boots. There was a criss-cross shaped scar across his right breast and many other, smaller and less noticeable scars, littered his torso. His head was covered in long, shaggy, fiery red hair that was pulled back in a loose ponytail and looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while. He looked to be a bit younger than the other two men, but seemed to be just as buff. He was armed with brass knuckles, that were already resting snugly against his fingers in preparation for a fight, and a pocket knife that was clipped to the outside of one of the pockets.

The last man, standing opposite of Trunks, wore a black tank top, green cargo pants, and dark red combat boots. He was fairly muscular, and was sporting a darker skin tone than the other three. He had short ebony hair that was shaven into a buzz cut, with slim sideburns accompanied by a horseshoe mustache. He looked to be standing guard now, and was armed with a 650 round RPD. There was the handle of a small handgun poking its way out of one of the pockets of his cargo pants and a hunting knife tucked into his belt.

The woman, Stella was her name, stood a few feet behind the three brutes. She was clad in all black; a black tank top that was tucked into black skin tight jeans, she had black combat boots, and was wearing a thick black belt. The only things on her person that was not black was her strikingly dark, but vibrant, maroon hair, that fell down her back like paint on a canvas, and the dark purple beanie that sat on top of it. Her eyes were a bright, periwinkle blue and her skin was porcelain white. She seemed to be significantly younger and looked thin and fragile compared to her muscular compatriots.

From what Trunks could see, Stella had one long scar that ran across her left collar bone, one end disappearing just underneath the collar of her top while the other end stopped just before hitting her shoulder. She also had a small scar running from just above her top lip straight down to just below her bottom lip. She came equipped with a large death machine gun which looked quite threatening in her arms.

Maybe she wasn't so weak….

"Whisky! What are you doing?" Stella asked exasperatedly, addressing the man peering down the hallway.

He turned to look at her. ' _What kind of name is Whisky?'_ Trunks thought. "I'm just making sure no one comes down the hallway."

Stella scowled at him. "Why don't you go down there and start checking all of the rooms. What better way to keep watch." She stated coldly.

Trunks felt a shiver run up his spine. He thought that her voice held a perpetual sense of a cold, harsh, void.

It seemed that Whisky felt the same, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek from nervousness as he walked further down the hall. Trunks watched him disappear around the corner before turning his attention back to the other occupants of the room.

"Stella." The bald man addressed her.

Stella sighed. "What is it, Moonshine?"

The man, Moonshine, turned around to look at her. "Are you sure we're in the right place?" He asked, throwing another empty drawer to the floor. "I haven't found anything valuable here." He said, clearly frustrated.

The air grew cold as Stella scowled at him. She set down her gun and said, "Of course I'm sure we're in the right place. This place used to be a multi-billionaire company. But more importantly, the people who ran this company used to be billionaires; very _smart_ billionaires. If you want anything of value, especially in a world like this," Then she walked over to the desk and kicked the side of it. A wooden panel fell on the opposite side from the force of the kick. Stella walked to the other side and moved the wooden panel aside. Then she picked up a necklace and held it up with one finger. "you just have to know where to look." She finished with a smirk as the other two men gazed at her in awe.

"Whoa. How did you know about that?" The red headed man asked while Moonshine nodded.

Stella closed her eyes briefly as she shrugged nonchalantly. Then she opened her eyes and held out the necklace in Moonshine's direction. Then she flipped her wrist and dropped it into his greedy palm. Other than her shrug, she gave no other answer to their inquiries. Moonshine brought the necklace closer to his face to examine the necklace further, his red headed partner moving in closer so he too could inspect the piece of jewelry over Moonshine's shoulder.

Trunks took the time to look at the necklace as well. The necklace itself was rather simple. It was a silver chain necklace with small diamond embroidery running up the chain and one, slightly larger, oval shaped diamond sitting at its base. Trunks' eyes widened and he let out a quiet gasp. He recognized that necklace!

Realizing his mistake, Trunks quickly straightened himself and took shelter behind the back of the couch once more. He held one hand over his mouth and then closed his eyes, hoping no one had noticed his little slip up. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

Stella snapped her head in the direction of the small noise, as did her companions. She narrowed her eyes, her sharp gaze catching a glimpse of a small shadow cast across the wall. "Moonshine, Pale Ale." She said, gaining the attention of the two men. She jutted her head toward either side of the couch. Getting her silent message, Moonshine and Pale Ale each walked to a side of the furniture while she stood in front of it, hands on her hips.

"Lookie what we have here." Pale Ale stated. He smirked and then lunged for Trunks.

Trunks avoided the man by jumping backward, out of his reach. Then he turned around, only to find Moonshine waiting for him on the other side. Again, the man lunged for him, and, again, Trunks jumped to avoid the man's grasp. This time, however, Trunks jumped over the back of the couch, his but landing on one of the cushions. He made no other move to escape, as he was not expecting to come face to face with the woman, and seemingly the leader, of their small group.

After a moment Trunks stood up to make an escape, but was not quick enough. Before he could dodge, Stella had whipped her arms forward and jammed the, rather large, barrel of her gun into his chest, stunning him. This was enough, however, for Stella to drop her weapon and seize Trunks by one of his wrists.

Trunks came to the conclusion that this young woman was no ordinary human, for her grip on his wrist was unnaturally tight and almost painful; this impressed him slightly. From what he remembered from Gohan's many stories, it was very difficult for an average human to hurt a Saiyan. Albeit that Saiyan may be five and wholly untrained, it was still a feat worth acknowledging.

Suddenly, surprising Trunks out of his thoughts, Stella wrapped her other hand around his tiny wrist and, parting her feet slightly, she flug him over her shoulder.

Trunks landed behind her with a painful thud and he groaned. Stella turned around and smirked. She walked over to him and put her hands on her hips. She then lifted a leg and, before he could get up, she let it fall against his abdomen, pinning him to the ground.

Trunks squirmed under her foot, much like a turtle on its back, closing his eyes with the effort, but, as much as he tried, he could not pry her foot from his body. A looming shadow crossed over his eyelids and his eyes snapped open. He looked up to see that Stella's two cronies had joined her, standing a few paces behind her, both with leering smiles on their faces. Then he turned frightened eyes to the girl who was bent at the hips so that her form was leaning over him, which put more pressure on his abdomen.

Then she smiled, almost sweetly, and asked, "You lost little boy?"

Her words rang out ominously and the other two thugs laughed cruelly. Trunks closed his eyes again as his breathing became harsh. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes and he tightened them, refusing to let them fall. This attempt was futile as a few tears escaped his eyes anyway, frustrating him as he felt his cheeks flush pink in humiliation at his predicament.

' _I wish Gohan were here.'_ He thought desperately to himself.

 **DBZ**

Goku and Vegeta were no longer in their super saiyan forms as they stood facing each other once again. This time both men were panting heavily, dripping with sweat, their faces haggard, and their bodies tired.

"What...is that all you got...Kakarot?" Vegeta asked breathlessly.

Goku chuckled as best he could before replying, "I'm not...even...tired yet."

"Bullshit!" Vegeta roared. Goku only smiled in return. "Fine! Then it's time for round-round...round…. What goddamned round is this?!"

However, before they could figure that out, Piccolo flew over to them so that he was now positioned between the two fighters. He put out his arms to keep them -mostly Vegeta- from jumping in to oppose him. "Yeah...I'm gonna have to put a stop to this right now."

"What?!" Vegeta screamed. Goku only huffed out a breath before straightening.

"Look, you're both obviously tired and well passed your limit. You look like you're about to collapse." Piccolo said matter of factly.

"Lies! I can take anything you dish out green man." Vegeta replied. ' _Oh god!'_ Then the proud man fell forward and groaned into the dirt.

"Point proven." Piccolo drawled.

Goku smiled and calmed his breathing, enjoying the banter between his two once enemies.

Piccolo let his arms fall to his sides as he walked over to the prince. "What was it that you said to me earlier, Vegeta?" He asked, pretending to think about it. "Oh, yeah." He smirked. "Face down in the dirt and consorting with third class fools." He paused. "Now who's superior?"

Vegeta growled loudly, turning his head so he could get a better look at the Namekian. "I will kill you." He stated in warning.

However, Piccolo only scoffed. "That'd be a first." He said turning away.

"And I do not _consort_ with that fool!" Vegeta yelled in an effort to defend himself as Piccolo walked away.

"Take it easy, Piccolo. You know how he gets." Goku stated with an easy smile. Piccolo hummed in return. They turned and walked toward the others, Goku with his fists on his hips. He looked over his shoulder where he could see the Saiyan prince struggling to extract himself from the ground and couldn't help but call back to him. "You coming, Vegeta?" He heard Vegeta growl out a response behind him.

"Wow, that was...some fight." Tien stated, unsure of what else to say.

Goku smiles cheekily, "Hehe, yeah. It was really fun." Then he rubbed the back of his head. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a challenge."

"Everything is a challenge if it involves Vegeta." Tien mumbled under his breath, but loud enough so everyone in the vicinity could hear.

"I heard that Triclops!" Vegeta yelled. It seemed he finally managed to stand, but he didn't dare try walking yet.

Tien tilted his head to look over Goku's shoulder and smirked at the prince. "Oh, is that okay?" He asked mockingly.

"As a matter of fact - go fuck yourself."

Tien straightened himself and smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Point proven."

"What do you say we go back to Bulma's?" Goku asked. "I'm starving!"

"Goku," Krillin started, "when are you ever _not_ hungry?"

Goku only chuckled in response, but no one disagreed with his sentiment. One by one they lifted into the air. Just as he kicked off the ground, Goku turned back to Vegeta and repeated his words from earlier. "You comin' Vegeta?"

Vegeta sighed insufferably before he too, carefully, took off into the air, clutching one shoulder.

 **DBZ**

Trunks sat with his back against the bottom of the couch as he peered down the barrel of the the gun that Stella pointed at him. Well...the gun had multiple barrels so it was hard to focus on just one for more than a few seconds at a time, but Trunks managed. It's not like there was much else he could do at the moment. Trunks blinked and shifted his gaze to the two men who were tearing open drawers and kitchen cabinets. Maybe he could make a run for it and try to get Gohan again. He was probably fast enough to do so. The only problem being that if they caught him, he wouldn't be strong enough to fight back. Then his eyes focused on the gun pointed in his face. There was also that. He was pretty sure that if Stella were to actually shoot him the bullets probably wouldn't hurt, but -He flicked his eyes up to Stella's face, her cold, hard stare greeting him- he didn't really want to test that theory. So, he sat wearily, back against the bottom of the couch, knees drawn up to his chest, and arms wrapped around his legs.

A loud sound startled him and he snapped his head to look in the kitchen, Stella staying still and never diverting her eyes from him the entire time. Moonshine had thrown a drawer, still full of contents, at the wall. He was breathing heavy from exertion and his face was blotchy and red from anger. "Damn it!" He said, throwing his hands up and running them across his bald head. "Damn it." He repeated. "There's not a damn thing in this place that's worth shit!"

Stella scowled, but her eyes didn't leave Trunks as she replied bitingly, "Then look somewhere else then."

Moonshine looked like he was about to retort, but was unable to do so as Whisky returned with a few small items in hand and a smile on his face. "It looks like I hit the jackpot." He stated, his chest puffed out a bit.

"What'd you find?" Moonshine asked, his curiosity overshadowing his previous anger.

"Medical supplies mostly." He shrugged.

"We can use that." Stella said approvingly.

"Yeah, but we can also sell some of it." Whisky replied.

"Why would we do that?" Pale Ale asked, confused.

"Because, I already told you: I hit the jackpot." He stated. Then he loosened his arms a bit and looked down. "They had a bunch of bandages and gauze and other stuff like that in bulk, but I also found the good stuff." He balanced the supplies precariously in one arm and then reached for a small bottle. He held the clear bottle out with a winning smile on his face.

Pale Ale's eyes widened as he reached out for it slowly. "Is that what I think it is?"

Whisky raised both eyebrows, his smile turning into a shit-eating grin. "It's Novocaine."

Moonshine exhaled as he too reached for the small bottle. Stella flicked her eyes over to the group and turned her head slightly at the proclamation, but said nothing. After a moment she turned her head back to face Trunks again.

"That's not all I have." Whisky said as he handed the bottle off to Pale Ale and picked up another one. "I got Morphine, Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Vicodin," he handed the bottles off to each companion as he named them. "as well as a whole lot of medicines for infection and treatments for low grade diseases." Moonshine and Pale Ale looked at the contents in his arms with a star struck gaze. Whisky watched them eye each item with a knowing look on his face. "Told you." He said. "Jackpot."

"Did you happen to find a bag to put all that in while you were perusing their medical kit?" Stella asked drily, making the trio look in her direction.

"Well...no." Whisky stated sheepishly.

"Well, it's a good thing we brought our own, isn't it?" She stated suggestively.

He huffed. "Go grab a bag for me, would ya Pale Ale?" Whisky said with exasperation, his earlier mood seeping from his body.

Stella's eyebrow twitched. "I think you forget that we don't want to be here for a long period of time. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." She turned her head to peer at them from the corner of her eyes. "Whisky." She said after he finished dropping the contents of his arms into the rucksack. She tilted her head in Trunks' direction. "Take this and watch the kid." She said handing the man the death machine gun. Whisky took her place in front of Trunks, but he was too busy watching his previous guard.

Stella walked over to the other two men and picked up the rucksack they discarded from the floor, throwing the diamond necklace in it and tying it off. She flug the bag over her shoulder and started for the door. After only a few steps, she turned and said, "You three stay here and keep looking for anything valuable. I'm heading back to the syndicate to see what these will fetch for us." Then she turned to leave again.

"Hey, wait!" Pale Ale yelled. "You can't leave."

"Don't get so upset Pale Ale. Don't worry, we brought two cars. You can squeeze in with Moonshine and Whisky, can't you?" She reached for the door handle, but stopped short as Pale Ale responded.

"That's not why I'm upset, bitch!" He yelled. "How do I know that you're not gonna go straight to the syndicate, cash in, and take all the money for yourself?!" Stella didn't move while he spoke. Pale Ale continued in a quieter voice, "I heard from your last team that you screwed them over and called it a 'Stella Artois fee' for working with you. And that's not all I've heard." He paused. "I've also heard that you don't really care what happens to your team; even heard that a few members got killed." Stella turned around as he walked over to Whisky and snatched his handgun from his pocket and pointed it at Stella. "I should just kill you now and save future bastards from keeping you company." He said. Then, he cocked the gun.

Stella stared at him with a face void of emotion. Even her eyes seemed to lack light. "Why don't you then?" She asked in a dark voice. The room seemed to drop in temperature and everyone in the room grew silent. No one moved. No one dared. It stayed this way for several minutes until Pale Ale let out a shaky laugh.

And, as if he grew more confident, he started to laugh hysterically, his voice growing louder and heftier the longer he continued. He doubled over, one hand on his knee and the other still holding the gun, and tried to calm himself. After taking a few deep breaths he straightened himself and aimed at her again with a malicious smile on his face. Then he clicked his tongue. "Nah." He uncocked it and tucked it in the belt of his pants. "You'd like to be shot dead, wouldn't you?" He asked, smile still on his face.

No one moved for a few seconds. Then, Stella blinked, breathing in deeply and inclining her head slightly, looking Pale Ale directly in the eyes. "If your faith in your trust is anything like the confidence you lack in pulling a trigger," This statement earned her a hiss of fury from Pale Ale, "then you better keep searching and find yourself something worthwhile." She drawled. Then she turned and walked out the front door, slamming it behind her.

Nothing was said, and Trunks dared not make a move as he flicked his eyes between the three men, swallowing convulsively. Then, suddenly, Moonshine started to snicker. Pale Ale whipped around to face him, a furious look on his face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times looking like a fish out of water. Finally, he settled on saying, "Shaddup."

Then…

"Trunks? Is everything okay up there?" His mother's voice sounded from the stairs.

Trunks' eyes widened and all three scavengers tensed. Pale Ale and Moonshine turned to give him a glare. Pale Ale rushed up to him, Trunks recoiling backwards to get away from him, and gripped his jaw. "You never told us there were other people in this place!" He hissed harshly in Trunks' face.

And cheekily, Trunks couldn't help himself, he replied articulating his words clearly, "You never asked." Pale Ale growled.

"Trunks?" His mother repeated, sounding a lot closer than before. "Where are you?"

Trunks snapped his head to the hallway entrance, his heart beating fast in his chest, and he felt his breathing pick up. Then he watched as Moonshine stood at one side of the hallway, just out of his mother's sight. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Pale Ale had drawn his gun again and pointed it at the hallway entrance. Trunks felt his heart sink and his breaths stop as he saw a flash of his mother's blue hair.

' _Oh no…'_

 **DBZ**

Vegeta glared at the men in front of him silently. His chest felt heavy. He glared as they all laughed and smiled at each other as if they were all best friends. Well...they are...so…. He mentally shrugged.

Vegeta brought up a hand to rub his chest. It was almost painful how heavy his chest had become. What was wrong with him? Was he that upset about his loss to Kakarot again? No. That couldn't be it. He had lost plenty of sparring matches with Kakarot -not that you could ever get him to admit that out loud- and none of those losses had felt like this.

Then, as if an epiphany struck him, Vegeta's eyes widened. He had only felt this way a few times before, but none of those were quite as strong as this. He narrowed his eyes. Should he ignore it? It could have been caused by something trivial again.

As if in contradiction to his thoughts, the feeling in his chest intensified. Vegeta took a deep breath to try to alleviate the feeling, but not succeeding in doing so. He expelled the breath from his lungs and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a fierce look colored his eyes.

Vegeta stapled his arms to his sides, gathered all of the energy he had left, and shot forward as fast as he could, passing the others and ignoring their cries for him to stop.

 **DBZ**

Trunks watched as his mother came into full view, stopping just before the threshold into the living room. She stared with wide eyes at Whisky and Pale Ale and the guns in their hands. Then she flicked her eyes to her son who was still seated on the floor, Whisky's gun trained on his head while Pale Ale's was pointed directly at her. She was frozen in place with her eyes wider than Trunks had ever seen them and her mouth slightly agape. The look would have been almost comical if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Moonshine!" Pale Ale yelled.

Trunks opened his mouth to warn his mother, but it was too late. Moonshine took the yell as his cue and jumped out in front of Bulma, causing her to yelp in surprise. She stumbled backwards to get away from the intimidating man. Moonshine followed her and they both fell out of view from the others, sounds of a small scuffle reaching Trunks' ears. He hoped beyond hope that his mother would somehow get away, but he knew that there was little chance of that.

He was proven correct as Moonshine dragged Bulma back into the living room, his arm around her neck. She clawed at the restraining arm desperately, gasping for breath as he roughly whipped her around and pushed her closer to the other group.

Trunks narrowed his eyes at the action. ' _She can barely breathe.'_ He thought worriedly. He swallowed thickly before repeating his words out loud. "She can't breathe." He said a little quieter than he would have liked.

Whisky flicked his eyes over to Moonshine, his face unsure and his eyes clouded with doubt. "The kid is right, Moonshine." Trunks had noticed the change in his face and attitude since before Stella had left. It had happened when Pale Ale had pulled the gun on her. Trunks had noticed, but was not brave enough to say anything. This was true now. Trunks was completely surprised when the man had actually spoken on his behalf. "Let her go."

Pale Ale scoffed. "What? Now you're siding with the hostages?" He asked.

"Yes!" Whisky shouted. "We're not supposed to have hostages in the first place!" He lowered his gun. "We never should have come here. The syndicate never authorizes raids where people could be habitating. They tell us to strictly stay to places that we know for sure have been abandoned."

"Yeah? Well it doesn't matter anymore!" Pale Ale yelled back, swinging the gun in Whisky's direction. "We're here! And I came for some treasure!" Then he walked up to Bulma and put the barrel up to her temple. She eyed the gun warily, fearful tears gathering in her eyes. "And by God am I going to get it."

"No!" Moonshine yelled. He reached for the gun and rest his hand on the barrel. "We don't kill people! We aren't like those monsters."

Pale Ale said nothing in response. Bulma flicked her eyes to Trunks, who had been watching her diligently. She didn't say anything, but her message was clear: _run._ Trunks shot into a standing position and darted for the front door.

"You're letting the kid get away!" Pale Ale shouted, aiming his gun at Trunks' back.

Once he reached the door Trunks turned back and stood there, waiting for his mother. Bulma used the distraction to elbow her assailant as hard as she could in the ribs. Moonshine let her go to grab his side in pain. Whisky was too surprised to move. Pale Ale saw her move in his peripheral. Trunks was waiting for her, his hand resting on the door handle. He was ready to open it so they could escape together, but Pale Ale reacted quickly and managed to grip one of Bulma's wrists.

Bulma almost fell to the ground from the sudden stop, but gained her barings quickly and turned to wrestle her wrist out of the man's grip. Trunks watched with apprehension, willing her to get away. Bulma tried to pry her wrist from his hand, but she just wasn't strong enough. She started kicking him in any place she could land her foot while she tugged as hard as she could, trying to get him to loosen his grip.

"Stop struggling, bitch!" He yelled. Then he took the butt of his gun and smashed it into her temple. Hard.

Bulma crumpled to the ground bonelessly.

"MOM!" Trunks screamed. He ran to her side and rolled her over. There was blood flowing from her forehead, dying her vibrant blue hair purple. "Mom." It came out as a whimper. Her eyes fluttered open, her eyes clouded and unseeing before they fell shut again. "Mom." He said quietly. "Mom, please." He shook her shoulders. "Mom!"

"It's your turn kid." Trunks heard Pale Ale say. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face and looked up into the face of her attacker. "I don't want any more trouble now." He said mockingly.

Then he raised the butt of his gun again and Trunks knew what was coming next. He ducked his head and wrapped his arms protectively around it. He probably could have gotten away, but he refused to leave his mother. Trunks closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the explosion of pain. There was a loud bang that made Trunks jump, but he didn't move from his position. Then he heard Pale Ale yelp.

Then…

"Get the fuck away from my son."

Trunks snapped his eyes open in surprise. Then, slowly, he lifted his head to see the back of a man in blue spandex with spiky black hair. He was gripping Pale Ale by the wrist. Trunks blinked. He knew this man. He was part of that group that showed up a few days looked up at the man with admiration sparkling in his eyes.

This man was his father?

Trunks blinked again. Then he noticed another figure next to him. He turned his head to see another man kneeled on the other side of his mother. This man was clad in orange and blue and had short, spiky hair. Upon his face were a criss cross shaped scar on his cheek and a longer scar that spanned from above his eyebrow and over his eye, stopping just below it. He knew this man too. His name was Yamcha.

Currently, Yamcha was cradling her head in one hand while his other one was gripping one of her hands. His eyes shifted up to meet Trunks'. He smiled tightly and said, "She's going to be alright, Trunks. Don't worry."

Trunks nodded numbly and blinked a couple more times watching as Yamcha turned his attention back to his mother, a worried look on his face. Trunks watched him for a few more seconds before shifting his attention back to the spiky haired man in front of him, an unsure look covering his face and one thought echoing in his mind.

' _That guy is my dad?'_

 **DBZ**

Dust trailed behind her motorcycle as she sped down the desert path, her maroon hair whipping around her. Her bag of loot hung off her shoulder as she sped up, wanting to report back to the syndicate as soon as possible. It was weird to put basically the equivalent of an underground empire in the middle of a nowhere desert, if you asked her.

Stella skidded to a stop in front of what looked like a large skyscraper like building, kicking out the stand to her bike. She swung her legs over the side of her bike and stood while reaching up to unhook her helmet. Once she got it off, she shook her head from side to side, her hair roughly following her movements. Then, she set the helmet on one of the handles and carded a hand through her hair, scratching her scalp. She always did hate helmets, but she also didn't want to accidentally die riding her motorcycle.

She shrugged her shoulder, her rucksack hiking a little higher, to make it more comfortable with the heavy weight. Then she tilted her head back, using her free hand as a visor, and let her eyes slide up the height of the building. She would never get used to that. She expelled the air from her lungs and trudged her way inside. This was the part of her job she hated most.

Stella walked through the furbished lobby, waving to the receptionist and nodding to security, and headed to the elevator. Once inside, she pushed the button for the top floor and waited. She eyed the meticulously placed camera for a few seconds before letting out a huge breath and diverting her eyes. Finally, the elevator doors opened and she strutted out and down the long, white walled hallway. She stopped before lavishly decorated double doors with two security guards on either side. One of them held up his hand, indicating for her to stay in place. The other one reached behind him and brought out his gun and aimed it at her.

"Weapons." He said.

Stella sighed heavily, sliding her bag off her shoulder, and started emptying her pockets. Once she was done the same guard said, "Hold out your arms."

She did so, allowing the unarmed guard to pat her down. After he was satisfied, he stepped back and nodded to the guard holding the gun. He nodded back and put his gun back in its holster while the other one talked into his shoulder. Then he addressed her. "You can go in. The boss will see you now." Then they opened the doors for her. She picked up her bag and walked inside, the doors shutting behind her. She stood just inside the doorway.

The room was well lit, almost no dark corners existed in the room. The room itself was decorated as lavishly as the doors that led to it. The walls were painted in a bright golden color, the trim and corners of the walls were painted a golden chrome color so they shined when the light hit them. Where she stood there was dark cherry red hardwood flooring that had steps leading down into a large circular cutout which had white carpet, two black loveseats, two black armchairs, and a dark cherry red wooden coffee table. Off to her left there was a fireplace with a fire roaring inside it.

' _Who would want a fireplace in the middle of the desert?'_ She wondered briefly.

In front of her was a large wooden desk, two large golden statues sitting on either side of it. Stella eyed the blonde man sitting in the high backed, black rolling chair. It seemed he was writing something, a letter perhaps? He was writing with a quill -who writes with a quill?- she knew because she could hear the tip of it scratching across the paper. He was wearing a black suit with a striped silver and white tie.

"You know what's interesting?" He asked her in a silky smooth voice, without looking up from his work. He continued before she could give him a snarky answer. "A few short moments ago I received a message from the rest of your team. Turns out," He drawled, "that two of your members were killed." He finally looked up at her, his bright chocolate brown eyes boring into her own, slightly wider, periwinkle ones. He gently placed his quill down beside the paper, never breaking eye contact with her. "It's interesting, Stella, that you didn't follow my directions; again."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. What had she done?

Before she could voice her question, the man stood from his chair, straight backed, and elegantly walked over to her, avoiding the circular cutout. He didn't stop his stride until he was right in front of her, only a few inches kept them apart. He towered over her shorter stature, looking down his nose at her and effectively intimidating her. "Do you remember our agreement, Stella? Do you understand your position here?" He asked her in a deathly calm voice.

"YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BRING PEOPLE TO ME!" He shouted suddenly in her face, his body shaking with the force of his voice. Stella flinched slightly.

The man took a few calming breaths and smoothed his long blond hair back again. He exhaled loudly and got himself back into order. He blinked, noticing that the young woman refused to meet his gaze. "Instead," he continued in a much calmer voice, "I've lost two people. Do you know how angry that makes me?" He asked.

Stella still refused to look him directly in the eye and she said nothing in response. He stared at her for a tense and silent minute before saying, "You do know the price you will have to pay for your ignorance, don't you?"

Stella snapped her head up and this time she did look him in the eye, her blue depths filled with terror.

"I think you forget, _Stella Artois_ ," He said, spitting out her name with venom. Then he leaned down, Stella following him with her eyes, and whispered into her ear, "I know who you _really_ are." Then, slowly, he straightened again, locking eyes with her.

She looked at him as if he had personally offended her, her face hard and threatening. He took a deep breath and smirked. "Now," He started. He turned away from her and walked down the steps, settling himself elegantly on one of the couches. He looked up at her and pat the seat beside him. "show me what you've brought me." He smiled almost sweetly, condescendingly.

Stella took a deep breath and closed her eyes, gaining her composure. Then she exhaled and opened her eyes walking forward.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me for another chapter of Heaven is a Place on Earth. I'm sorry for the late update. I've really been trying to update every month and I wanted to get this chapter up on the first, but school started a couple weeks ago and I found myself very stripped for time...which makes me sad. So, just know that in the next couple of months it's going to be really hard for me to write and update. I'm not really sure when I'll be able to update next, so just keep that in mind.**

 **Here's to the reviews last chapter:**

 **...**

 **To: ThickerThanLove**

 **How right you are! You're going to see a huge development in Gohan and Goku's relationship in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy that. It's definitely not going to stop there either. Their relationship will continue to develop as the story moves along.**

 **...**

 **To: ashlovesdbz**

 **Yes! I know! Goku and Gohan pretty much get the whole chapter to themselves, so I hope you enjoy the content. I listen to music when I write, so some songs really inspire key scenes and they sometimes tend to get a bit dramatic...but I'm not sorry. Lol. I'm glad I was able to make your dream come true. :)**

 **...**

 **To: AngieWr**

 **Holy cow! Just...wow! First, thank you for your review! I always appreciate it. Second, yours is the longest review I've received so far and that makes me really happy. :)**

 **I'm trying to incorporate each character as best as I can, but the story does mainly revolve around Goku, Gohan, Trunks, Vegeta, and Bulma. Because of that, there will be times where Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo will not have ANY dialogue in a chapter (speaking of, I think this is one of those chapters...), or, if they do, it will be very limited. I'm trying to avoid that because I really want them to play a big part in this story and I feel like I'm kinda failing at it? Well, let's just say they aren't as present as I want them to be right now.**

 **Also, I absolutely loved writing that scene where Vegeta takes the time to just look at Bulma, and I mean really look at her. Sometimes with these future timeline stories I don't think her character differences compared to her counterpart are pronounced enough. I tried to accomplish that in the way she behaves and especially so in that scene.**

 **I'm so glad I can make you laugh! I laughed writing that scene as well. I hadn't originally planned it that way, but I thought it was a nice reprieve from all the negative information the group had been receiving. Comedic relief and all that...**

 **Anyway, thank you again for reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses.**

 **...**

 **Before I start the chapter, I must state that this story is rated T for A REASON. However, I have convinced myself that I need to put up a warning. A very MILD warning.**

 ***WARNING: (very) minor character death, a small scene where self harm is involved, and vaguely fleeting mentions of suicide***

 ** _Do not take the wording of my warning the wrong way. I take self harm and suicide very seriously. If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, below is the number for the suicide prevention hotline._  
**

 ***National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255***

 _ **The Suicide Prevention Hotline is a toll-free line available 24/7 for anyone in a suicidal crisis or emotional distress.**_

 _ **Please do not hesitate to call this number if you or someone you know is in need of help.  
**_

 **...**

 **And on that lovely note...**

 **On with the story!**

 **...**

 **Chapter 5: Birthday Surprises / Epidemic**

Vegeta decided that he hated them all. Well...he had decided that long ago; it just didn't hold the same meaning as it had when he first decided on the sentiment. Vegeta's eyes flicked to each man as he glared at them, daring them to say something about his predicament. This, however, did not stop them from snickering under their breath and coughing to hide their laughter.

Vegeta's eyes flickered over to Bulma, as she leaned over to set the beginnings of breakfast on the table, with a look of betrayal on his face. Her eyes crinkled as she brought her hand up to her mouth to smother her giggles. Vegeta's eyes narrowed at her in a half hearted glare and followed her with his eyes as she moved back into the kitchen. Huffing out a breath, Vegeta's eyes slid down towards his lap to look at the object of their amusement.

Trunks, his son, was happily humming to himself and tapping his fingers against the table top, sitting comfortably in Vegeta's lap and swinging his legs back and forth with a lazy sort of momentum. Every time one of Trunks' feet connected with his shin, Vegeta's eyebrow would twitch.

It had been two weeks since the scavengers incident, two weeks since his unintentional confession. Since then, the kid had made sure to be as close to his father as he dared get. Sometimes that meant just being in the same room as Vegeta, but recently that has turned into a need for full blown contact almost 24/7.

Vegeta let out a harsh breath. He wished the kid would just leave him alone once in a while. He wasn't so great at this whole 'father' shtick, he supposed. His eyes flicked up again as another snort of amusement caught his attention. He eyed each man, trying to figure out who had done it, until he noticed another figure leaning against the wall near the entrance to the dining room.

Gohan looked at them with a small, amused smile lining his lips with one eyebrow raised. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at him, daring him to say something. Gohan's eyes shined mischievously and it looked as though he was about to comment, but, instead, he conceded, putting his hands up in a non-threatening manner, and walked around the table to lean against the counter.

Gohan had taken to being alone as often as possible, still unsure of himself when in the presence of his friends. This extended to meal times. He sparsely joined the group for meals, instead preferring to snag a few snack to take down to the labs with him. Gohan's uneasiness mostly only showed itself when he was alone with his father. Ever since that first day Gohan had avoided being left alone with the man. In the rare cases where he and his father had ended up alone together, their conversations were usually short and quite awkward. They didn't know what to say to each other.

They didn't _know_ each other.

It was a sad fact that Gohan had discovered just over a week ago, after their first awkward conversation. Gohan's heart had fractured when Goku died. Every day after his death, every time he talked to his friends, every time he saw his mother's face the fracture grew ever so slightly. He had blamed himself for his father's death for many months (if only he had been faster, if only he had noticed the signs) until he was confronted with the androids for the first time; and as his friends fell one by one, his heart had created spider webbed cracks with each death.

Ever since their death's there had been a perpetual ache inside his chest, and everytime he thought about them, their deaths, little pieces of his heart flaked off, layer by layer. However, nothing compared to what he felt when he had lost his mother. He had always counted on his mother, since she was really the only constant in his life. When she had died, his heart had shattered, The first morning he had woken after her death had been the hardest. He had never felt so alone, nor so defeated, before.

But they were here again. His father was here again. He had a chance to mend his relationship with Goku and Gohan had vowed to himself, albeit a few days ago, that he would make an effort to mend and strengthen their relationship; and he would start today.

Gohan's eyes flicked over to the table to look at his father, only to find that his father was already looking at him with a slightly pinched face -which looked completely wrong. However, as soon as he caught his eye, Goku forced out a tight smile and pulled out the empty chair next to him.

"Why don't you come sit down, Gohan?" He asked.

Gohan took a deep breath. ' _Baby steps, Gohan. Baby steps.'_ Gohan tentatively returned his smile and took the proffered chair, sitting in it stiffly -though Goku seemed elated by his action nonetheless. Gohan's eyes wandered over to Trunks and Vegeta and he smiled. While he was apprehensive and cautious when approaching the relationship with his father, Trunks seemed not to share his mentality and appeared to have jumped straight into the deep end. Gohan's eyes slid from Trunks' happy smile to Vegeta's scowling frown and chuckled. It seemed that Vegeta was not as happy as his son at their situation.

Bulma appeared behind Vegeta again, setting the rest of breakfast on the table. She smiled when she caught his eye, settling herself in between Vegeta and Yamcha. "Joining us for breakfast this morning?" She asked and her smile grew when he nodded, to the affirmative, starring guiltily at the small pink scar just above her temple -a reminder of what had happened two weeks ago. She turned to everyone else, oblivious to his guilt, and exclaimed enthusiastically, "Alright then, guys! Dig in!" Everyone happily did so.

Gohan paused mid-bit, as if just remembering something. He closed his mouth and straightened himself, his fork full of delicious eggs forgotten. "Bulma," He started, gaining her attention. "What's the date today?"

Bulma blinked and turned in her seat to catch a glimpse at the calender hanging behind her. "It's the 25th of June." She said as she turned around. Goku had stopped eating as well at the confirmation. "Why?"

Gohan's eyes widened comically as his mouth dropped open slightly. "Crap!" He yelled.

"What?" She tied again, but was ignored as Gohan bolted out of his seat and down the hall toward his room. The others gave her questioning looks. "Hey, don't look at me. I don't know." She shrugged.

No one was able to question further as Gohan ran back into the kitchen in a pair of black trousers and a dark purple button up, knotting a white tie around his neck. "I'm so sorry -it's just- I just remembered- the clinic." He stammered.

Bulma's eyes shined in understanding and she smiled. "Oh, I didn't know you still worked there."

"Yeah." Gohan replied breathlessly, straightening his tie. "I do, just not as often anymore. Ever since they found the cure for the heart virus," his eyes flicked over to his father for a split second before returning themselves to Bulma, "they haven't really needed the extra help. Which is why I completely forgot that they asked me to come in today." He said. After he had smoothed down his tie, Gohan asked, "What time is it?"

Bulma lazily lifted her wrist to her face to read the time. "Quarter to eight." She replied.

"Damn it!" He exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be there in fifteen minutes!" He turned to hurry himself out the front door, but stopped at his father's voice.

"But Gohan, isn't today your birthday?" He asked hesitantly, as if confused.

Gohan's body stiffened and he became very quiet. Bulma's eyes had lost some of their glow and she looked down at her plate, distracting herself by playing with her food. All of this did not go unnoticed by the rest and they wondered what was said to have caused such a reaction.

After a moment, Gohan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and said without turning around, "I guess I hadn't noticed."

"What do you mean you didn't notice?" Yamcha asked incredulously. "How do you just forget the day that you're born?"

This time Gohan did turn around, but his face was strangely blank. "I didn't forget, I just...don't care." He answered snappishly.

"But why?" Krillin asked confused.

Gohan took a deep breath. "Well, it's not exactly a happy time for me anymore." Ignoring their confused and questioning glances, Gohan said, "I've got to go. I'll see you later." Then he walked out the door without another word.

There was a tense silence after he left, no one was sure what should be said. Goku had a contemplative frown on his face, as did most others. Trunks, however, looked quite clueless as to what was going on and so, he decided to finish his breakfast. Then, suddenly, Bulma stood with her plate. "Eat your fill." She said. Then added, mostly to herself, "I can take care of the dishes later. I'm going to go down to the lab for a while." Then she put her plate in the sink and refilled her coffee cup before exiting the kitchen. "Behave yourself, Trunks." She called over her shoulder.

Trunks decided that he had had enough physical touch with his father for now and slid into the seat his mother had just vacated. Then he looked up and said, "Why was Gohan so upset?"

Krillin smiled tightly. "I don't know buddy."

After receiving that answer, Trunks looked at Goku and said, "Maybe he's upset because you weren't there to celebrate his birthdays. I know I would be upset if my mom never had birthday's for me." Then his eyes shifted to his juice glass and as an afterthought added, "You should throw him a surprise party."

A smile slowly appeared on Goku's face. "That's a great idea Trunks!"

"Is it?" Tien doubtfully asked.

"Of course!" Goku exclaimed as he let his fist fall into his open hand. "Gohan will love it! We can do a surprise party!" He squealed, excitement twinkling in his eyes and a huge smile on his face.

"Goku, I don't-" Tien was interrupted by Trunks.

"Can I help?" The boy asked, standing up in his chair in excitement.

"Well, of course!" Goku said, shaking in his seat. "Oh, I'm so excited! Hehe!" Then he blinked owlishly. "I suppose we'll have to ask Bulma for some supplies."

Trunks put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes, his chest puffing out in a very Bulma like fashion while his face adorned a very Vegeta esque smirk. "We don't need her." Trunks pointed to himself, "I know where everything is around here. I can get you what you need." He said proudly.

A brief silence followed his statement.

"Yeah...can't tell who his parents are at all." Krillin said drily, one eyebrow raised.

 **DBZ**

When Gohan arrived at the clinic -a few minutes late, he liked to remind himself- he was pleasantly surprised to find it quite empty. The only people he saw were other doctors like him and some nurses who were refilling supplies. He smiled at his observation. This meant that the world had one less thing to worry about.

His first real case came in just before nine o'clock.

Gohan grabbed the patient's clipboard from the nurse, as he walked by her, and quickly skimmed the report. After flipping through the pages a few times, he slid open the curtains separating him from his patient. "Mr. O'Brian?" He asked, extending his hand.

The man smiled. "Yes, sir." He extended his hand as well, and both hands met in a shake.

"How are you doing this morning?" Gohan asked, initiating small talk while he gathered some supplies for their, hopefully, brief meeting.

"Well, I've been doing okay." He replied. "Not doin' too well since I'm in here today." Then he quickly added, "Not that I'm not happy to you doc! I really appreciate the time you took out of your day to see me."

Gohan chuckled as he rolled a chair in front of O'Brian. "It's no problem. I wouldn't really want to be in here either." Then looking through the chart again, Gohan said, "Now, it says here that you've been experiencing cold like symptoms?" O'Brian nodded. "How long has that been going on?"

O'Brian shrugged. "A couple of days now."

Gohan nodded and took some notes. "Can you tell me how it started? What symptoms you experienced?"

"Well," Gohan took notes while he spoke. "at first I just wasn't hungry, even though I knew I should have been, but the food just wasn't appetizing. Then I started getting the chills, like I couldn't warm up, but then, it felt like, the next moment I would get so hot! I didn't really know how to deal with that." He paused.

Gohan asked, "Any chest pains?" A nod. "Any coughing?" No. "Have you experienced tightening in your chest, like it was difficult to breath?" Yes. "So, shortness of breath, then?" Yes. "Shallow breathing?"

"I try to breath in as deep as I can, take in as much air as I can." He replied.

Then, Gohan stood up dramatically and said, "Well, Mr. O'Brian, I'm pretty sure you're suffering from the common cold." O'Brian seemed to relax at the declaration. "However, because you are experiencing chest pains and tightness in that area, I'd like to keep you here for awhile for observation. Is that alright with you?"

O'Brian nodded. Gohan smiled. "Alright then, I'll be sending nurse Cindy back here in a few minutes. If you have any questions, concerns, or if the chest pain does get worse don't hesitate to give me a holler."

O'Brian took Gohan's hand again, nodding. "Of course, doc. Thank you so much."

Gohan nodded. "I'll be back every hour to check on you." He said before sliding the curtain closed behind him.

By 10:30 Gohan had received ten other patients with the same symptoms as O'Brian. And, after talking with his colleagues, he had found that he was not the only one. Penelope Pince, who had come in only an hour after himself, had reported seven cases and Steve Stallone, who had come in just before ten o'clock, had reported three cases as well.

Penelope Pince was a young woman in her mid twenties and a rather tall woman at that, standing at five feet and eleven inches. She had short, honey colored hair that was tied back into a small ponytail, the shorter pieces falling from the tie and framing her face, and electric magenta eyes. She wore golden rimmed half moon spectacles that rested comfortably on her nose, right behind her nostrils. Today she was wearing a, not quite as vivid, magenta button up that had vertical dark brown stripes with a dark brown skirt that stopped just above her knees and tan colored tights with simple, dark brown pumps. Topping off her wonderful outfit was her white lab coat, which all doctors were required to wear, and her bronze colored name tag pinned just above the breast pocket of the coat on the right side.

Steve Stallone was dressed similarly to Gohan, except he adorned a wine red colored shirt and a black tie. Stallone had short, dark ebony hair, much like Gohan's, which was combed to the right side of his head. He was a young man in his late twenties and stood at six feet and two inches. Gohan himself was almost as tall as the man, standing at five feet and eleven inches himself. Steve had no facial hair, but always managed to greet everyone with a pleasantly stunning comment and a blinding smile. Gohan was sometimes envious of his perpetual happy mood. He too wore a lab coat and his bronze name tag rested on the left side, opposite of Penelope.

Gohan scratched his head as he shut the curtains around yet another 'cold' patient's bed. He huffed out a breath and allowed his eyes to scan the room. The clinic itself wasn't very big. The treatment room looked to be about the length of a football field, all open space, with only beds lining the steril white walls. There was only one set of doors that led out into a long hallway that opened up into the reception area. The hallway was adorned with multiple doors that opened up into small storage spaces.

Gohan sighed, scanning the room again before finding the person he was looking for. He straightened his back and set off to tell his boss the bad news. "I just got done talking with patient number twenty one." He said, blowing out the rest of his breath in an exhaustive manner.

Before his boss could anwer, Penelope came up behind him and added, "Make that patient number twenty two." She slammed her clipboard down on the counter and let out a long breath.

Gohan eyed his boss warily. The man looked pale and clammy, his normally slicked back chestnut brown hair was disheveled from his hands running through it so many times, and his salmon colored shirt was crumpled and slightly untucked from his oak brown trousers. Gohan's boss, Erin Abernathy, was a man in his early forties with a fully grown beard "Sir," Gohan started, gaining his boss' attention. "are you gonna call it?" He asked.

Penelope straightened, also curious about his answer. When his boss continued to stay silent, Gohan asked again, "Sir, you have to state that this is an epidemic so the staff can continue treatments with proper protocol. Are you going to say it?"

Then, the man snapped his head in Gohan's direction with wide, fearful eyes. "This is _not_ an epidemic!" He whispered harshly through his teeth. "Continue to treat your patients as you have." He stated in a calmer manner.

"Sir," Penelope started in a lazy drawl, "I have to agree with the kid. I think that this could be the start of an epid-"

"Continue treatments. This is not an epidemic." He stated again. Then he left, leaving no room for argument.

Penelope sighed and turned around to look over the treatment center. Then, after a quiet moment, "How have you been diagnosing your patients?" She asked him.

Gohan sighed as well. "Well, my first patient, O'Brian I diagnosed with the common cold. However, the more patients I see the more I'm considering changing my diagnosis."

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and frowned. "Changing it to what?"

"Pneumonia." He stated simply.

The woman hummed. "Yeah, I've been leaning towards that as well." She paused. "It's just each patient's symptoms are different, yet similar enough to bring up concerns about an outbreak. I just don't get it."

"I'm inclined to agree. So...what _looks_ like pneumonia, _acts_ like pneumonia, but _isn't_ pneumonia?" Gohan wondered out loud.

Penelope shrugged. "Honestly, kid? I don't know." Then she picked up another clipboard and flipped through the pages. "Let's just hope that, whatever this is, it doesn't spread like wildfire." She lifted her magenta eyes to look into his dark ones while shaking the clipboard. "Off to see another patient." She stated with an unenthused smile.

Gohan took a deep breath and turned his eyes heavenward. ' _This just isn't what we need right now…'_ He thought irritably, letting out his breath and scowling.

"Doctor Son?" A nurse in lilac colored scrubs stood in front of him, holding out another clipboard. "I've got another patient for you." She stated solemnly.

Gohan nodded and took the clipboard from her hands. While flipping through the pages, he addressed her. "Will you go check on Mr. O'Brian for me? And, if possible, just let him know that I'll be in to check on him in about fifteen minutes." He saw the nurse nod at his words in his peripheral before she walked away. Gohan walked toward his patient and thought, ' _Well, here goes nothing.'_

…

Gohan had kept his promise and informed Mr. O'Brian that he had changed his prognosis to a mild case of pneumonia and had told him that he was to be kept overnight for observation, just in case the symptoms got worse.

By noon that same day, over 50 more patients had come in, all with moderate to severe symptoms of pneumonia.

By three o'clock that afternoon, and with over triple the patients since three hours previous, Abernathy finally declared the reported cases of pneumonia as an epidemic and instructed all staff to proceed with proper protocol.

By four o'clock, only one hour later, Mr. O'Brian was declared dead.

 **DBZ**

Bulma sat back in her chair and raised her arms above her head in a languid stretch. Then she took a long, deep breath and slumped in her chair. She sat and watched as her computer ran a diagnostics test on a small computer chip. Bulma brought a hand up to her mouth to smother the yawn that was escaping it. Then, she relaxed into her chair a little deeper, looking at her watch for the time. She blinked and was surprised when it read _7:42_.

' _Hopefully they all fended for themselves when lunch time came around.'_ Bulma thought with an amused smile. Of course, they had most likely managed since she hadn't heard either full-blooded Saiyan male complaining to her at any point since breakfast this morning. She looked at the progress on her computer and contemplated staying in the lab until the diagnostic test was done. However, she quickly disregarded the idea and figured she should at least make an appearance and cook a proper meal. The test wasn't to be done for another few hours anyway.

Shrugging, Bulma quickly stood and sauntered up the steps from the lab to the main floor, hands behind her back and humming a happy jig. When she reached the kitchen however, she stopped dead in her tracks. Stunned, she scanned the room wide eyed.

The kitchen was a complete mess. Dirty dishes were piled high in the sink and spilled over the counter tops. The area next to the stove was covered in flour, eggs, and other unidentifiable ingredients. As she walked towards the table she could distinctly see a thin cloud of smoke lingering in the air and looking into the trash can, as she passed it, she could see a still slightly smouldering, charcoal black lump.

She winced as she looked at it. ' _That must have been their attempt at making lunch.'_ However, the thought was quickly discarded as she caught sight of the dining room.

The floor, chairs, and table were covered in multi-colored confetti. Above the entrance hung a large banner that said 'Happy Birthday Gohan!' in messy scrawl. The table was completely empty except for a single, large, lopsided cylinder which, she thought, was supposed to be a cake. It was decorated in pink frosting with the words 'happy birthday' written in the same messy scrawl on the top in white icing.

As she observed the scene before her, her face grew into obstruct horror. She couldn't believe what they had done. She snapped herself out of her thoughts as she heard multiple sets of feet rushing into the room.

In the entrance, above the banner, Goku and Trunks skidded to a stop. The smile of Goku's face dropped and he pouted at her. "I thought you were Gohan." Then he dejectedly sat in one of the chairs at the table, the others filing in,much more calmly, after him.

"You should be glad that I'm not." Bulma paused and looked around again. "What...what is all this? What have you done?" She asked, mortified.

"Well, I wanted to surprise Gohan with a birthday celebration when he came home." The man stated.

"Well, take it down!" She said frantically. Bulma flicked her eyes to the clock hanging in between the cupboards. It was _7:53_. Gohan would be home in less than ten minutes. "Hurry! Before he sees!"

But it was already too late. The lock to the front door clicked and the hinges creaked as the door swung open.

 **DBZ**

Gohan looked at the ground as he walked up the steps to the front door of what used to be Capsule Corporation. He stopped in front of the door, but did not reach for his keys. He wasn't prepared to answer the load of questions that were sure to come when he walked through that door. He stared at his shoes, thoughts of that horrid day running through his mind.

Sixty four.

That was how many patients had died and O'Brain, his patient, had been the first. By the time his boss had let him go, sixty four people had died….

And he felt, in this single moment, the weight of every one of their deaths on his shoulders. Just as he felt the death of every single person the androids had killed.

Gohan took a deep breath and let it out heavily, not feeling any lighter than he had before taking the breath. His chest constricted painfully. He closed his eyes against the swell of tears that appeared. He would not give into his emotions. Not not at least.

Honestly, he had wanted to stay longer at the clinic, not only to help but to also keep himself busy, but Abernathy had pointed out that there was a reason that they set night shifts and had then steered him toward the door with a swift, curt 'good-bye'. His boss had actually let him go a whole half hour early, but, as he watched staff and patients alike, thought it best not to argue and headed home.

Gohan sighed again and fished in his pocket for his keys. He wished now that he had argued, even if it was only a bit. It was dangerous to let his mind wander. He kept thinking about their dead bodies, their pale faces, and, most of all, their dull, lifeless eyes turned toward the ceiling in a perpetual stare into nothingness.

Gohan shook his head of the mental images and shivered, which had nothing to do with the cooling night air. He straightened himself and put the key into the keyhole. He opened the door and stepping into the dark entry hall, closing the door behind him. The only light he could see was flooding into the hallway from the kitchen. He didn't understand why, but he felt surprised to feel everyone's energy gathered in the kitchen. Had they waited for him to eat?

"Shouldn't have done that." He grumbled under his breath. He didn't feel much like eating. However, that scene would have been preferable to what he walked in on.

Gohan was startled to a stop in the entry way as his father and Trunks yelled, "Surprise!"

They were the only ones to do so.

Gohan let his wide eyes run over each face in the room. Most were apprehensive. Vegeta looked indifferent. Bulma had a fearful look in her eyes, but her face was otherwise blank. His father and Trunks were the only ones who adorned large, toothy grins. Goku stepped forward, clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, "Happy birthday, son."

And that was when he put it all together.

The colorfully spotted floor, the lopsided lump on the table, and -he tilted his head up- the somewhat large banner hanging over his head. Gohan's heart painfully skipped a beat and his breathing quickened.

 _Oh god…_

This was supposed to be a _celebration_...for _him_! A celebration of his _life_.

Gohan felt fear and anxiety flood through him. He stumbled backward into the wall, a hand coming up and clutching his throat. He felt like he couldn't breath, but with how much his chest was moving it was clear he was drawing in breath. He couldn't hear anything but the fierce pounding of blood in his head. His legs became shaky and he was afraid that they would not support his body for much longer.

Gohan leaned over and put both hands on his knees to help support himself and let his head hang. It seemed that this position was helping overall because he noticed that his breathing became deeper. However, his throat still felt tight and now his sinuses were burning. The sound of his rapidly beating heart receded just enough for him to catch the vague sound of laughter.

Was someone laughing?

Who was cruel enough to laugh at him right now?

Gohan straightened himself, leaning heavily against the wall, to look at the occupants of the room in front of him. His eyes roamed over looks of varying degrees: concern, alarm, disgust, fear, but none of their faces held that of amusement. That was when he noticed he, Gohan himself, was the one laughing.

However, the laugh that sounded through the air was not one of amusement. The sound that bubbled up from his throat was cold and hollow. And that was how he felt. Cold and hollow. At the same moment, he vaguely registered the heat of his tears as the trailed down his cheeks.

He was crying?

Gohan reached up and gently touched his fingertips to his cheek in disbelief, disrupting the tracks they were making and allowing them to pool slightly where his fingers rested. After a few seconds, he pulled his hand back to inspect his fingertips and, indeed, they were wet. For some reason, this fact only made him cry harder.

He wasn't thinking. All he knew was that he had to get out of there.

Gohan ran down the hall toward his room and slammed the door shut behind him. Then he staggered to his bed, but, instead of sitting on it, he plopped himself on the floor beside it, leaning his back against it.

Gohan tilted his head back, allowing the back of his head to rest against the mattress, and stared through tear blurred vision at the white ceiling, the faces of the occupants of the previous room filtering through his mind. He reached up to wrap both hands around his throat and noticed that his laughter had become choked sobs. He felt like he couldn't breathe. They were still staring at him and it made his skin crawl uncomfortably. He felt like he couldn't breathe and he wasn't sure that the hands around his neck were really helping. They were staring -his skin was crawling- it made him want to scratch himself until the feeling went away.

-They were staring...-

 _-He couldn't breathe...-_

-...it made his skin crawl...-

 _-...but...perhaps…-_

-...he wanted scratch himself…-

 _-...the hands_ _ **were**_ _helping…-_

-...he wanted to scratch until he bled.-

 _-...because…-_

-He wanted to scratch.-

 _-...he wasn't so sure…-_

-He wanted to bleed.-

 _-...that he_ _ **wanted**_ _to breathe anymore.-_

Gohan's mind became suddenly blank and he instantly stopped shaking. The images and thoughts that had come to the forefront of his mind like rapid fire had stopped. His lungs refused to take in any more air not because he was choking himself, but because his thoughts had shocked him into the action -or rather, inaction. Everything had just...stopped. His mind could only focus on one thing:

Did he just admit to himself…

Gohan inhaled deeply and shakily expelled the breath. His body resumed its shaking, but this time it was due to emotional exhaustion. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but the mental admission was strangely comforting. He was still slightly shaking and there were still a thin trail of tears running down his cheeks, but he felt a lot calmer than he had before, albeit physically and emotionally drained.

Gohan pulled his hands away from his neck and noticed that there was fresh blood on his fingertips and underneath his fingernails. He blinked and stared at the blood with fixation. During his mental diatribe he must have accidentally been doing what he had wanted to do. He got up and walked into the bathroom to inspect his injuries. Tilting his head up and from side to side, he could clearly see the indentations from his nails and the smearing of blood that was caused by his fingertips.

Running his fingers gingerly over the slight punctures, Gohan continued to inspect them with a certain calmness that he was sure was not normal. However, that concern was quickly overshadowed by another, growing feeling. He felt an unnatural sense of…

 _...control._

The realization made his eyebrows quirk in a strange interest. Unfortunately, he could not dwell on his thoughts any longer as three sharp taps sounded on the door to his bedroom. Gohan's eyes widened slightly and he quickly turned on the tap to clean his hands and his injuries. "Just one minute!"

 **DBZ**

Goku stared at the spot his son had just been. He was slightly disturbed by his son's reaction….

Gohan had looked... _crazed_ , laughing and crying at the same time. Goku wasn't sure how to describe it. He hadn't actually met a crazy person before so he had no reference to compare his son's behavior, but Gohan had acted pretty crazy in his opinion.

Although...some people had tried to call him crazy in the past….

' _Do I even know what being crazy means?'_ Goku thought. He pictured all the times throughout his life when someone had told him he was crazy. ' _Well...I mean...if you think about it…'_ Goku was snapped out of his thoughts by Bulma.

"Goku! This is why I told you to take everything down. Look at what you've done! You've upset him!"

Goku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't know that's how he as gonna react."

Bulma scowled, hands on her hips. "Yeah? Well I could have told you that much if you had bothered to ask!"

"Mom?" Trunks' quiet voice broke through the lull in conversation. "Why was Gohan so upset?" He asked timidly.

Bulma sighed and her face softened as she looked down at her son. "I don't exactly know, sweetheart." She said. Then she flicked her eyes up to Goku with a meaningful glare. "You're just going to have to ask him yourself."

Goku's stomach dropped with anxiety at the implication. Should he go and talk to his son now? ' _What if he's still acting like he was just a few minutes ago?'_ He wasn't sure he could handle his son if was still acting that way. He wasn't sure _how_ to handle his son right now.

When Gohan was younger, things had been easier... _life_ had been easier. He did basically anything he wanted and always tried to include Gohan in that, trying not to earn the wrath of his mother as he did so. Because of Chi Chi, he didn't get to train Gohan as much as he had liked. However, Chi Chi wasn't the only one to blame.

Don't get him wrong...he understood completely why his wife didn't want Gohan to be mixed up in the world he lived in; a world full of blood, fists, and death. When Chi Chi first fought for her son's safety, her stubborn refusal to allow their son to accompany him on an adventure, even when they went on camping trips, had confused him because he didn't understand why she was so adamant about keeping Gohan home.

However, after planet Namek...after Frieza….

When the tyrant had stated that he was going to kill his son…

Goku visibly shuddered at the thought, a chill running up his spine.

At that moment, he understood.

He understood why his wife was always reluctant to send their son with him...it was _because_ she understood his world. On planet Namek, for the first time, he had looked at the situation through _her_ world.

He had felt fear strike through him when he thought...when he _knew_ Frieza wouldn't hesitate to kill his son. He had felt anger engulf his senses as he moved to defend his son without even realising he had done so. He could almost taste the venom that laced his words as he spoke to the tyrant.

Most of his memories of that day were a little blurry. Sometimes they seeped into his dreams, allowing him brief glimpses of what had transpired that day.

After his trip to Namek, Goku had resolutely decided that he could not let his son get that close to death again and had trained harder than ever. He had occasionally convinced his wife, over the course of the remaining years of his life, that it was important for Gohan to learn how to defend himself against enemies. She had, surprisingly, wholeheartedly agreed, but she had made it clear to him that their son was to go nowhere _near_ the deadly fights unless he had no choice, in which it was Goku's turn to fully agree.

And so, he had spent the last three years of his life training Gohan. However, it was nowhere near as rigorous as it had been before. He spent the time he had while not training Gohan to train himself. He trained day in and day out. He pushed his body to its absolute limit everyday. He did this to make up for the loss of an ally in battle. He told himself he was doing it to protect Gohan from the horrors of the world...of _his_ world. He hadn't realized how important it was that Gohan keep his innocence until after his experience on Namek. But by then, it had been too late.

Gohan knew the horrors of his world. Then, and now. However, he was determined to keep his son away from that; so he trained. And trained…

And trained…

And he had never realized that, in his resolution to protect and love his son, he had also been unintentionally neglecting him. So caught up in his own world was he, that he did not take the time to speak with Gohan about his world; about the things he liked and didn't like; about the things he loved and the things he hated. Never once, in those three years, had he asked Gohan if he even wanted to train in the art of fighting.

But he had rationalized to himself that he needn't ask Gohan that question. The training was for his protection after all. He needed to know how to defend himself, and his mother if the need arose.

The one thing Goku regretted in his life, and in his death, was never taking the time to get to know his son. In his simple one track mind, the only important thing was training himself. And after Namek it had been training his son. He supposed if Gohan was safe and protected, then that was all that mattered. He had never realized that mentality was only hurting his son.

Now that he understood what he had done wrong, it was too late. His son had grown up and he had not been there. His son's world had changed and now they were complete strangers. Gohan was no longer the young boy Goku had known.

But, thinking back now, had he even known his son?

Goku sighed and hung his head slightly.

No, he thought. No. He had not known his son. Not as deeply as his mother once had. Now, Gohan doesn't even have that in his life anymore.

Goku took a deep breath and lifted his head to look down the hall. He promised himself that, if he got another chance, he would try harder to be the father Gohan deserved. He was trying, but his real attempts needed to start now.

Goku squared his shoulders and, without looking at anyone else, took off down the hall. Once he reached his son's room, he lifted his hand up and knocked lightly on the door with two knuckles. He was afraid it was not loud enough, and was about to knock again, but he received an intelligent response.

"Just one minute!"

He heard water running inside the room and wondered briefly what was going on inside. Also...was Gohan actually as calm as he sounded? Goku was hesitant to believe this, his son's earlier behavior flashing through the forefront of his mind. He had no more time to dwell on his thoughts, however, because just then the door to Gohan's bedroom was swung open.

Goku looked down into his son's face and focused on his eyes. They seemed clear and void of any tears, although his face seemed a bit red. He vaguely wondered why that was. Then he noticed Gohan eyebrows furrow in concern and realized he had been lost in thought again. He gave his son, what he hoped was, a reassuring smile and allowed himself to lean against the doorframe. "Can I come in?" He asked.

The concerned look on Gohan's face disappeared and he gave a hesitant nod, stepping to the side and allowing his father entrance into his room. Goku stood near the center of the large room and waited for Gohan to take a seat.

Gohan sat down on the edge of his bed, heart beating in his chest and ridge backed, rubbing his clammy hands together nervously. After he had exited the bathroom he felt he could face whoever was at the door with a small modicum of confidence, but then he opened said door to find his father standing there; the last person he expected to be behind the door. However, his father was someone he was not yet ready to face.

What was he going to say?What _could_ he say? How was he going to explain what had happened when he himself wasn't entirely sure what had happened?

Gohan felt himself flush with nervousness. He didn't know how to start. His heart was pounding in his ears again and he fidgeted in his seat. He rubbed the palms of his hands together again and took a few calming breaths, getting his thought together. However, before he could speak, his father broke the silence.

"Gohan," He said very quietly, as if also trying to figure out what to say. "Gohan, I…" He said more confidently, but then sighed and carded a hand through his hair, searching for the right words. "Look." He said. "I know things haven't exactly been easy for you these past couple of years."

Gohan's eyebrows raised into his hairline, surprised, and wondering where his father was going with this statement.

Goku stared unblinkingly at Gohan, his face set with a look of unusual seriousness. This continued for a tense moment before Goku sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. Then he walked over to a corner of the room and dragged the only chair in front of where Gohan was sitting on his bed and sat in it, his left ankle resting on his right knee. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at Gohan again.

He took a breath. "Gohan...I never meant for -for any of this to happen." He paused. "I never meant for you to get hurt." He stated heavily.

Gohan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What the heck was he talking about? However instead of interrupting his father, he let the man continue.

At this point, Goku avoided looking his son in the eyes. Instead, he took this time to focus very intently on the carpet while he tried to gather his thoughts. Then, without looking up, "Just before I died...after Namek...I tried to- to…" He paused and brought his hands together. Then he took a deep breath and looked up again. "I tried so hard to keep you safe. I wanted to protect you. I trained as hard as I could, so that you didn't have to. So that you wouldn't have to-" Goku broke off, a lump forming in his throat. He looked up at the ceiling to blink back the sting of tears in his eyes. He took a moment to compose himself, swallowing thickly around the tightness in his throat.

Gohan continued to watch him pensively, patiently waiting for him to continue. If he was honest with himself, he was mildly surprised with this sudden bout of emotion his father was showing. He tried to deny the hopeful pounding of his heart as he watched his father blink back tears ( _tears!_ ), but this was something he had hoped for for so, _so_ long. He licked his lips in anticipation, waiting for his father to continue speaking.

"I never wanted you to have to face a situation where you were fighting for your survival ever again." Goku continued, his voice sounding oddly neutral. "I trained you just enough for you to know how to defend yourself and I trained myself even harder than before." He paused and swallowed, feeling emotion burn in his throat and the familiar sting of fresh tears in his eyes. This time, however, he did not try to blink them back.

He felt his bottom lip tremble as he struggled to continue. Goku swallowed again and took in a shaky breath. He blinked back his tears a bit, trying to get a clear look at his son. When he finally succeeded he noticed that Gohan too had tears swimming in his eyes, which only brought back an onslaught of his own. "I just wanted to protect you, Gohan. I never-" He broke off again, the lump in his throat suffocating him.

Goku took a few breaths before continuing, his voice thick with emotion. "I never realized...with how much I was focused on protecting you, I never realized...I never realized how much I was hurting you." He said, his voice breaking off into a whimper near the end.

He noticed the tears in his son's eyes spilling out and rolling thickly down his cheeks. Gohan sniffed and looked away, taking huge calming breaths, but Goku was not done. He wanted to say one last thing.

Goku got up and sat on the bed next to Gohan, causing his son to turn his head and look at him. Goku looked steadily into Gohan's eyes through bleary tears. He felt them spill out onto his cheeks, clearing up his vision a bit. Gohan stared back at him just as intensely. "I love you, Gohan." He said quietly, his voice hoarse with emotion. He watched as his son's bottom lip trembled slightly. "I _love_ you." He said firmly. Gohan let out a choked sob and looked away again. "I never meant to hurt you." He whispered brokenly.

Those words seemed to break Gohan's own resolve as he let out an almighty howl, hunching over and burying his face in his hands. His body shook with sobs and Goku fought with the urge to pull his son into his arms and hug him ruthlessly. His own tears were coming out in thick rivulets now as he continued to watch his son.

Gohan continued to sob, unable to control his emotions. It was as if his body was letting go of years of anger and grief through body wracking sobs. Which, he thought, was probably a good assumption. This behavior went on for several minutes, though not without Gohan's vain attempts to try and stop himself from crying. He hated crying, especially in front of other people. That, he supposed, had something to do with his uncle…

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but in reality was only just a few moments, Gohan had calmed himself enough to think clearly about everything his father had told him.

It was everything he had wanted to hear every since his father abruptly had died. He had never addressed his feelings when his father was alive because he was too shy and he figured, in the end, it didn't matter _how_ he felt about the time spent with his father; just being able to spend time _with_ his father was enough. Of course he had felt hurt that his father would rather train, and spend time training him, rather than spend some time doing other activities, but, again, he didn't deem it that important to bring it up.

He hadn't grown angry and bitter until _after_ his father had died.

Gohan took a hesitant breath and turned to look at his father. Goku had been watching him silently, but a small smile graced his lips when Gohan looked at him. Gohan's eyes flicked to his father's cheeks; at least he wasn't the only one crying. Goku waited patiently for Gohan to speak. Gohan took in a few breaths before talking.

"Dad, I-" He broke off. This time it was his turn to search for words. Gohan looked away and stared at his lap. "After you died, I- I was so angry." He whispered, hands fisting the thick blanket on either side of him. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I was angry at you leaving...and I became resentful...because the only thing we ever seemed to do was train...and now we would never have the chance to do anything else. I was angry at you because after you left, mom was never the same. Because your friends were never the same."

Gohan paused again, not daring to look at his father, and folded his hands in his lap and busied himself with staring at them. After a moment of silence he continued. "But worst of all," he said hoarsely, "was the fact that I wasn't actually angry at you for dying.

I was angry at myself for letting you die."

Goku blinked at the information, but wisely said nothing. He waited for his son to continue.

"I was angry at myself for not noticing the signs. For not…" Gohan sighed. Then, very quietly, "For not being there when you died...to say goodbye."

Goku closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. ' _Oh god.'_ He thought to himself. No wonder things between himself and Gohan had been so tense. Gohan had never gotten closure; hadn't even been there in his last few moments. He wondered briefly where Gohan had been, but decided that information wasn't important right now. Goku took in a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Gohan I-"

But Gohan cut him off, as if he hadn't started speaking. "Today, at the clinic, almost a hundred and fifty people came in with the same sickness. Sixty four of them died. Almost half of the ones that died were my patients." He swallowed thickly.

"I don't like celebrating my birthday...because you died one week before it. And mom died the next year, four days after it."

Goku inhaled sharply. No wonder…. His birthday was a reminder of his parent's deaths. How could he be so selfish into thinking that, after everything, Gohan would want a relationship with him. He had just jumped right in without regard for his son's feelings. Just like he always had. However, he could not dwell on these thoughts as Gohan continued.

"I guess that with today being my birthday...and all those deaths and sickness at the clinic….

"Everything just reminded me of your death today. It brought up all of these feelings that I've been trying to ignore ever since you -and mom- died. And then coming home to... _that_...in there….

"It reminded me of happier times and...I guess I just...lost it."

Goku hesitantly grabbed his son in a hug and held him close. Neither one said anything for several moments. Gohan didn't hug his father back, nor did he allow himself to feel any emotion at this moment, only waiting pensively for his father's reaction. Then, Goku started petting Gohan's head comfortingly. "I'm sorry." Goku whispered after another moment, his breath tickling Gohan's ear.

Gohan shrugged nonchalantly. "You didn't know." He stated.

"I'm sorry." Goku repeated, never ceasing his motions. "I'm so, so sorry Gohan."

Gohan wrapped his arms around his father reassuringly, refusing to acknowledge the familiar sting of tears in his eyes. "Dad…"

Goku ignored him. "I'm sorry, Gohan." He said.

Deciding against speaking any longer, Gohan instead buried his head into his father's chest and tightened his arms around his father's torso as Goku started rocking them both gently. Besides, he told himself, they could both use the comfort.

"I'm so sorry."

Goku repeated variations of these words like a mantra.

"I'm so, so sorry."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello everyone! I am so so so so so so so so sorry that this took so long to get out to you. I have not forgotten about this story, so don't worry. I was going to write just a bit more this chapter, but decided that it was best to stop where I did. I hope you'll forgive me for the cliffhanger. Hopefully the next chapter will not take so long to write.**_

 _ **Now it's time to say thank you to all who reviewed last chapter!**_

 _ **To: ThickerThanLove**_

 _ **Ah, thank you so much! Every time I read one of your reviews I always get so warm and fuzzy inside. It makes me really happy. And you're correct, things are definitely going to be awkward between Goku and Gohan for a while, but eventually it will get better. Thank you so much for being a faithfull reader and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.  
**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **To: SierraLarson**_

 _ **I'm only sorry that I'm not sorry. I love writing emotional scenes that get people to react. Of course, I also love writing the comedy stuff too. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you keep enjoying the story (and all the emotional stuff too!).  
**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **To: Panda4star**_

 _ **I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so far! That's all I can hope for with any of my readers. Like I said above, I really do enjoy writing the emotional scenes. I think a lot of people can relate to the feeling of not quite fitting in and I know we've all been in a place where our emotions just sort of come out like lava from a volcano (don't lie! I know you have!).  
**_

 _ **I know that I tend to get a bit descriptive and that it can get kinda boring to read after a while, but in future chapters I hope to cut down on that a bit (unless it's like some big fight scene or something like that). However, this does not mean I'll cut back completely either (if I did, the story would be just as boring to read, if not more).**_

 _ **Anyway, thank you for enjoying the story and here's to the hope that you enjoy another chapter!**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **To: Katherine0912**_

 _ **Here it is! Lol. I hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **Alright! Just one more thing before I start the chapter. I noticed that my scene change indicator is sorta hard to see. I just wanted to know if I should change it to make it more noticeable or if it's okay the way it is now. Please let me know what you think.  
**_

 _ **Now, enjoy the chapter!**_

 _ **...**_

 **The Androids Attack**

 _Gohan smiled as the breeze ruffled his air as he flew. He took a deep refreshing breath and closed his eyes. It had been a while since he felt this peaceful. The last time he had felt this content was back before his father had died. That was over a year ago._

 _Both he and his mother had been devastated when his father had died. Well...he had dealt with it a lot better than his mother had._

 _The few months following his father's funeral procession had left his mother hopelessly depressed. She didn't get out of bed unless it was to use the restroom or get the occasional glass of water, she cried herself to sleep almost every night, and she didn't speak if she didn't have to._

 _Gohan made it his obligation to take care of her. He took it upon himself to cook their daily meals, do the chores, get groceries, intermittently give his mother a glass of water, while also focusing on studies (he was sure his mother would not be happy if she found out he had fallen behind)._

 _Then, one day, she suddenly snapped out of it. One day he woke to the smell of already made breakfast wafting through his cracked bedroom door. When he went to investigate, he found his mother standing at the stove, humming her favorite tune, and stirring the contents of a pot. When she noticed his starring, she smiled brightly at him and told him to sit at the table._

 _That morning, breakfast was a quiet affair. Gohan only played with his food and snuck furtive glances at his mother every few seconds. After a few minutes his mother sighed and put down her silverware._

" _Gohan," she had said his name softly, immediately gaining his attention. "I'm so thankful."_

" _For what?" he had asked, surprised._

 _She softly smiled and folded her hands before saying, "For you." Then she picked up her utensils again and started eating._

 _She hadn't said anything about the subject since, and Gohan didn't feel the need to push her for an explanation._

 _The four months that followed that day had been...better. His mother was getting better, he was getting better, and they were getting along again. However, his father's death was still heavy in the air and both of them were reminded of him around every corner. Gohan was okay with this though. As long as they were dealing with it and moving on._

 _And then the androids had shown up._

 _Of course, he had no idea that's what it was at the time._

 _He could feel the life energy of each of his friends -of his father's friends- disappearing, and with each death came an assault of pain and sorrow. He had tried to look for their bodies, but never did find them. Still, he wanted a burial for them. And so, they had buried empty caskets and wrote a short epitaph on each tombstone. They had 'buried' each man in the backyard of the Son's ("The place where everyone always felt so welcome and at home." Bulma had said)._

 _Long after his mother and Bulma disappeared inside, Gohan walked over to his father's grave and sat down as it started to rain. He lied down on his side and hugged his knees to his chest, crying silently for the loss he felt. He allowed the rain to soak through his clothes and saturate his skin. He did not move when he started shivering from the cold and was sure he would have ended up with hypothermia that day if it had not been for his mother, who gently coaxed him inside._

'Speaking of rain…' _Gohan thought to himself as he heard rolling thunder. He opened his eyes and saw angry dark clouds in the distance. However, this did not interest him as much as the small streams of smoke coming from a village nearby. His eyes darkened as he veered off to the left, headed straight for the only village within a fifty mile radius of his home._

 _Gohan landed on the dirt road and he was instantly assaulted with the heat of an attack and the stench of charred bodies. He cringed and brought his hand up to his nose to block the smell. He walked around slowly, calling for survivors His heart sunk slightly when no one responded. Then, a small tendril of fear inched its way into his heart._

 _This place was actually really close to where he lived, especially if you knew how to fly. What if the androids -because there is no doubt about who had caused the destruction in this small town-..._

 _What if they found his house?_

 _Gohan felt a shiver run down his spine._

 _But there's almost now way they had come across his home by accident….Right? But…_

'What if they did find it?' _Gohan thought fearfully. Then, without any further prompting, he took to the now dark sky, flying as fast as he could to his home._

 _Gohan felt his palms sweat as terror ran through his body. His mother was there alone. If the androids got there before him…_

 _He shook his head violently. He couldn't think like that. He_ had _to get there before they did. He was too afraid to think about what would happen if he didn't._

 _As soon as his feet touched the ground, and as another roll of thunder sounded through the air, Gohan ran toward the front door yelling, "Mom!" However, as soon as he was through the threshold, he stopped in his tracks at what he saw; his body frozen with fear._

 _A few feet in front of him stood his mother...and behind her, android Seventeen. The android had one arm wrapped teasingly around her waist while the other was wrapped snugly against her neck. The android looked up at him when he burst through the door and smirked darkly at him._

" _Gohan," His mother whimpered._

 _Gohan narrowed his eyes and moved to step forward, but stopped as soon as Seventeen removed his arm from his mother's neck and instead wrapped his fingers tightly around her throat. She gasped and closed her eyes. "Nuh-uh-uh. Not one step closer, or I'll snap her neck." Seventeen purred, never taking his eyes off of Gohan._

 _Gohan growled and clenched his fists, but stayed where he was. Seventeen's smirk widened and he shifted his eyes from Gohan to his mother. Then he chuckled darkly and leaned in close to her face. Chi Chi whimpered and flinched when the android tilted her head to one side. Then, surprising both Gohan and Chi Chi, he flicked his tongue out and ran it up the length of her neck until he reached the back of her earlobe. Chi Chi opened her eyes in surprise and tried to wiggle away from him, but stopped when he tightened his fingers around her throat. Then the android repeated his action._

 _Gohan closed his eyes in disgust, but desperately screamed, "STOP!" when he heard his mother whimper again._

 _Android Seventeen flicked his eyes to Gohan and then straightened himself and removed his arm from his mother's waist, but did not remove his hand from her throat. With a blank face and a monotonous voice he stated, "Fine."_

 _Gohan tentatively opened his eyes, but gasped in horror as he watched Android Seventeen throw his mother into the wall behind him, the upper half of her body breaking through wall. She crumbled bonelessly to the ground, blood pouring from the back of her head and leaving a trail on the wall as she fell._

 _Gohan held his breath as he stared at her. Was she breathing? He wanted to run to her, but his body was still frozen. Then he tore his eyes away from his mother as he heard foot falls sounding from the stairs._

 _Android Eighteen appeared from upstairs, her face contorted into an ugly frown. Her brother turned to her with an amused smirk. "Find anything up there?" He asked._

 _She huffed and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear before saying, "No."_

 _All of their attention was directed towards the woman on the ground again as she groaned and rolled slightly. Eighteen glared at her. "The woman has absolutely no sense of fashion whatsoever. Everything she owns is far too traditional for me." Then she flipped her hair back and slid her gaze toward Gohan in a lazy manner. She smirked as her eyes met his pensive face. "Hey, punk." Then she looked behind her and at his mother again. "Couldn't protect mommy huh?" She asked mockingly. Then she chuckled darkly as Gohan scowled at her._

" _Why are you doing this?" Gohan ground through his teeth._

 _Android Seventeen's eyebrows rose with utter surprise, as if Gohan had just suggested they become best friends. "Why?" He repeated, bewildered. Then he schooled his expression into an amused smirk once again. "The question isn't 'why', kid. It's 'why not?'"_

" _Exactly." Eighteen said. "I mean...who's going to stop us?" She asked, coming to stand next to her brother. Then she laughed and said, "Obviously not you."_

 _Gohan backed up until his back gently hit the wall behind him as Android Seventeen walked up to him. "I guess the explanation you're looking for is this." He stopped in front of Gohan and tilted his head to look down at him. "You see, our father, Dr. Gero, created us for the sole purpose of killing Son Goku. So, kid…." Seventeen leaned down and put one hand on the wall beside Gohan's head. "Where's daddy?"_

 _It took a moment to realize that the android was actually waiting for him to answer. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You mean you don't know?"_

 _Seventeen narrowed his eyes. "Know what?" He asked, sharply articulating his words which caused Gohan to flinch._

 _Gohan swallowed thickly before stuttering, "He-He's d-dead."_

 _The android stared directly into his eyes. The next moment, Gohan's head snapped to the side and he was falling to the floor. He grimaced as he tasted blood in his mouth. Gohan brought a hand to his cheek and looked up at the dark haired android._

" _Are you lying to me?" Seventeen asked calmly._

 _Gohan scowled. "I wouldn't lie about something like that."_

" _Oh, but I think you would." He reached down and picked Gohan up by the collar of his shirt and brought him up to eye level. He brought Gohan face close, until their noses were almost touching. "Especially if it was to protect dear ol' dad." Then he brought up his fist and was ready to strike, but stopped at another's voice._

" _Stop."_

 _Gohan's head snapped to the side again, but this time of his own volition. "Mom?" He whispered. His mother was struggling to her feet, coughing and spluttering the whole way up. When she finally got to her feet, she was sweaty and out of breath. She was leaning heavily against the wall to support herself._

" _Stop." She repeated, her voice breathy and quiet. "Please...don't hurt him." Then she faltered and fell to her knees, releasing a groan of pain as she hit the floor._

" _Mom!" Gohan exclaimed, worry lacing his voice._

 _Seventeen smirked and dropped Gohan. He hit the floor with a loud 'thud' and a soft 'oof'. Seventeen then walked over to his mother and picked her up off the floor in a similar manner. Gohan gasped and got to his feet._

" _Alright, fine." He said. "I won't lay a finger on him."_

 _His mother looked slightly relieved by the statement, but the look was quickly replaced by fear as Android Eighteen walked toward Gohan. She turned fearful eyes toward Gohan and yelled, "Gohan, run!"_

 _Gohan wanted to react -to do something- -to run- -to do anything- but his body would not cooperate. And before he could remember how to take control of his limbs, Android Eighteen was in front of him. She punched him in his gut and he doubled over, falling to the floor and clutching his abdomen._

" _No!" He heard his mother yell. "Gohan!"_

 _Eighteen rolled him onto his back with her foot and then settled it on his chest. "I don't think so." She said. "Haven't you ever heard that you can't run away from your problems?" Gohan's heart sank into his stomach as a nasty smirk appeared on her face. "So, he gets to stay." Then she flicked her eyes to his mother, her smirk turning malicious. "He gets to stay here and listen to you scream!" She said with twisted glee._

 _Gohan's eyes widened in terror and he looked over at his mother from his place on the ground. She was writhing in the dark android's grip and scratching at the arm that held her captive. Terrified tears pooling in her eyes. Android Seventeen matched the look on his sister's face and brought his hand up._

 _Then, Gohan closed his eyes and violently flinched away as his mother screamed._

Gohan bolted upright in his bed, beads of sweat glistening on his skin, panting, and a silent scream on his own lips. He tried to calm himself down once he recognized his surroundings. He filled his lungs with as much air as he could and held it; he held it in until it became painful. Then he expelled the breath and ran a hand through his hair. ' _Why did I dream about that?'_ He wondered.

He hadn't had a nightmare like that in a while. The last time he could remember even dreaming about his mother was right after she had died. He hadn't dreamt about his mother's death for at least three years now. Why did his mind decide to conjure _that_ memory up?

Gohan turned his head to look at the alarm clock on his nightstand and sighed. It was only half past four. He would have liked to have slept a bit longer, but…

He flung the comforter off of himself and shuffled his way towards his dresser for a change of clothes before heading for the shower. He knew he wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep, even if he wanted to.

After his shower he headed down to the lab to busy himself until breakfast.

 **DBZ**

When Gohan emerged from the lab for breakfast later that morning, he never could have prepared himself for what he saw.

' _It's like watching a bunch of children.'_ He thought, a bemused smile stretching across his lips.

It seemed that, at least at one point, everyone had sat down at the table to eat, but something had gone horribly wrong in the proceedings.

Goku, his father, hand a fork in each hand and was shoveling two pancakes at a time into his mouth, swallowing them whole with a large smile on his face and a childlike twinkle in his eye. Next to him sat Yamcha, who was engaged in a heated, but friendly, conversation with Bulma. Bulma had her body angled toward the scarred man and was gesticulating wildly with one hand while the other was occupied with a fork a bite of pancake hanging off of the end forgotten. Tien and Krillin were also engaged in conversation, although theirs seemed to be more casual. Krillin leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head and legs outstretched. Tien was also leaned back in his chair, but his hands rested in his lap.

The most surprising aspect of this scene, however, was Vegeta and Trunks. Vegeta was chasing Trunks around the table with an enraged look on his face. Trunks was running from his father, a pancake in one hand drenched in syrup, which would on occasion smack into Yamcha's arm leaving a splattering of maple syrup, and an enormous smile on his face. His loud laughter echoed in the small dining area. Even with all of his superior strength and speed, Vegeta could not seem to catch Trunks for whatever atrocity he had committed against his father.

Then, Gohan's eyes shifted over to Piccolo who was leant against the wall and determined to ignore it all.

Gohan let out a soft laugh and grabbed himself a seat next to Bulma, who paid him no mind. As he was filling his plate, his father paused in his eating and said, "Hi, Gohan!" before he started stuffing his face again. Gohan smiled shyly at his father, but did not say anything.

Ever since they had that talk together a few nights ago, he and his father had been talking easier. There were no more awkward silences, or conversations, and he no longer felt any anxiety being around the older man.

On the other hand, Gohan's nightmares had come back with a vengeance. It wasn't unusual for him to have a nightmare -he usually had a cycle of nightmares that occured every once in a while- but even so, none of them had been as vivid as the one he experienced last night.

"What's on your mind, Gohan?"

Gohan blinked before looking up. His eyes connected with his father's, who was sitting directly across from him. He blinked a couple more times before replying. "Oh. Uh…well...I was just thinking."

"What about?" His father asked.

"Oh, nothing in particular." Gohan lied. "Just letting my mind wander."

Goku deflated a bit. "Oh...well...okay."

Gohan felt a tiny bit of guilt eat away at his heart. He felt bad lying to his father, the man had been trying so _hard_ , but he wasn't ready to have... _that_ conversation with him just yet. At that moment, Vegeta seemed to give up his chase and plopped himself down into an empty chair, Trunks doing the same. As Vegeta tried to catch his breath, not that he would ever admit to such a weakness, he turned his glare to Gohan. "Where are the androids, huh? Why haven't they shown up yet?" He demanded.

Gohan thought about replying sarcastically with 'How the hell should I know?', but instead settled for, "Sometimes they attack every few days sometimes they attack every few months. They like to lure people into a false sense of security. I guess it's more fun for them or some shit like that." he stated absentmindedly.

Goku frowned at his son's language while Bulma had a more verbal disagreement. "Gohan!" She said sharply, giving him a glare.

Gohan glanced at Trunks, but shrugged non committedly. After a few moments, Gohan suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going back down to the lab."

Goku looked at him. "Really? But you barely ate anything."

"I'll be fine." Gohan said hastily, fumbling to get out of his chair.

"Are you sure?" Goku asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yep." Then Gohan was gone.

Goku stared after him, biting his lip in concern.

"I wouldn't worry too much." Bulma said. Goku shifted his gaze to her. "Talk of the androids really makes him uncomfortable. Especially since…" She trailed off, shivering as she lost herself in a memory.

"Since what?" Goku asked.

Bulma blinked and brought herself back to reality. The blue haired woman stared at him for a moment, biting her bottom lip, before sighing and saying, "I'm sorry. It's just...it's really not my place to say. You're going to have to wait until Gohan is ready to tell you." She paused and broke eye contact. "Whenever talk of the androids come up, Gohan does his best to distract himself from it. So, I wouldn't worry about him. This is normal behavior for him." Then, she shoveled a spoon full of her breakfast into her mouth.

Goku looked down at the table and clenched his hands into fists. He frowned at the table top before lifting his head to gaze at the set of stairs Gohan had disappeared down. ' _I suppose…'_

 **DBZ**

Many hours had passed since Gohan had left breakfast that morning and while Bulma was washing the dishes from a successful lunch, which Gohan did not show up for, she thought it was a good idea to see what the kid was up to. As she dried the last dish and put it away, she thought about where her own kid had run off to.

' _Probably finding out how pick another fight with his father.'_ She smiled, amused at the thought.

It was amazing how well Trunks and Vegeta were getting along. She was sure by now that Vegeta would have gotten fed up with the kid, but it seemed that the result was the opposite. Even when Trunks is teasing or laughing at him, Vegeta seems quite … _content_ with his behavior. It's a very strange thing to witness, especially when she mentally compares the image of past Vegeta and present Vegeta.

Bulma smiled ruefully. If only … if only she could have seen him like this … when Trunks had been born. She closed her eyes and shook her head of the thought. She should focus of what is. There was no point in dwelling on what could have been. She opened her eyes and inhaled deeply before making her way down stairs.

The sliding doors to Lab 1 opened and Bulma entered. However, she stopped just after the threshold and blinked at the empty space. She had expected him to be in here. Bulma shrugged and turned to leave. Maybe he decided to work in another lab. She stopped herself just as the sliding door to Lab 2 opened. He wasn't there either. She blinked, her eyebrows furrowing. ' _Hm….'_ Bulma thought to herself. ' _That's unusual.'_

Bulma blinked again at the empty lab before moving on to the last lab in the hall. These three labs had been relatively untouched by the attack on Capsule Corp. via the androids. Although, she was curious as to why Gohan would be using the third laboratory. Neither of them really used it because Labs 1 and 2 were in much better condition. She had started to use Lab 3 as a storage space. So why did he decide to work there? She was sure it was cluttered with various unfinished projects.

However, when Bulma stepped through the threshold of Lab 3 she found the young man bent over a microscope. She walked over to him and leaned against the end of the sturd counter. She crossed her arms and asked, "What'ch'ya lookin' at?"

Without looking up at her, Gohan replied, "A disease."

"A disease?" She repeated,

"Yeah," Gohan stood up straight and delicately grabbed the petri dish underneath the scope and set it down behind a tape label. He then replaced it underneath the microscope with another sample. "I took a few different samples from from the clinic I work at. I wanted to try and see if I could figure this thing out." He elaborated. Then he exhaled sharply while shaking his head, reaching for another petri dish and putting it under the microscope.

"A few?" Bulma asked, raising an eyebrow. "Looks more like a couple dozen samples to me." She said, eying the counter top. She smiled bemusedly at the many rows of petri dishes. As quickly as it had come, the smile slid off of her face. "Are you even allowed to take samples from patients like that?" She asked.

"Not really." He replied. At her questioning look he said, "It doesn't matter if I'm allowed to do it or not. Innocent people are dying and I need to do what I can to stop it from happening. Who cares if I break a few rules along the way."

Bulma blinked. Then dawning realization hit her. She smacked her forehead and said, "Oh, that's right!" Gohan flicked his eyes to her for a brief second before returning his gaze to the microscope. "I remember now. You told me yesterday that an epidemic has started to spread." She suddenly stood up straight. "What can I do to help." She asked.

"Nothing." Gohan replied. "I can do this myself." And as he was exchanging petri dishes, "You really shouldn't be in here without some kind of protective gear."

Bulma waved off his concerns. "Don't worry about it. So. What can I do to help?"

"Nothing."

Bulma stuck her lower lip out in a slight pout. However, when it was clear that he wasn't going to accept her help, she contented herself with just watching him work. After a few moments, she asked, "So… how did you get those samples anyway?"

"Carefully." Was his reply.

Bulma shot him a small glare before turning her attention to the tape in front of each petri dish. She started to read each label.

 _Zephyr… Stirling… Potter… O'Connell… O'Brian… McLaggen…_

Were these… names…?

"Are these the names of the patients you stole blood cultures from?" The blue haired woman asked, an amused smile lining her lips.

"Yes."

"And they just… let you take samples of their blood?" She asked, her voice laced with astonishment. When it was clear that he wasn't going to reply, she asked, "Didn't they… I don't know… fight back?"

"No." He said.

"But why?" She asked incredulously.

"Because these people were already dead when I decided to take the cultures." Gohan replied swiftly, not once looking at Bulma throughout their entire conversation.

Bulma blinked, her shoulders sagging slightly. She flicked her eyes back to the labels.

 _Lincoln… Key… Ellahara… Day… Browne… Adamson…_

And there were still at least a dozen more names. All of these people had died in just two days? When she voiced her question, Gohan looked at her and shook her head.

"More." He stated. "At least sixty four when I worked the other day and at least a hundred more yesterday." Her mouth fell open. "The number of casualties are only going to go up." He said when he caught her expression. "Whatever this thing is, it's killing people. And it's killing people fast."

Bulma looked at him with a serious air surrounding her, her face pinched in worry. "What do we do?" She asked.

" _We_ ," Gohan said, gesturing to both himself and Bulma, "don't do anything." He stated.

" _What!?_ " She screeched indignantly.

Gohan sighed and finally looked up at the blue haired woman. Bulma's eyebrows hung low on her forehead and her lips were pursed, as if she had sucked on a lemon. Gohan blinked at her expression and then rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. "Look," he said, " _I_ have already broken the law. I know that we don't really have much of what you would call 'law enforcement' in our dystopian world, but nonetheless I have _broken - the - law._ "

Gohan hunched himself over the microscope again after putting a new petri dish under it. "And if I _am_ caught," he continued, "then I don't want you to have to face the consequences as well." Gohan flicked his eyes from the scope and to Bulma as he changed the magnification lense.

It would seem that his attempt at appeasing her had not worked. If anything, her expression hardened and seemed to be more intense than before. Gohan rolled his eyes again before turning his attention back to the microscope. "You have Trunks to think about." He stated as an afterthought.

The room was quiet for several minutes, although Gohan was acutely aware that Bulma still stood next to him. Just as he had contented himself with her presence she spoke up, startling him and almost causing him to drop the sample currently in his hand. "I worry about you too, you know." She said softly.

Gohan looked up. Her expression had softened quite a bit, an almost sad expression adorning her face. She had a small frown on her lips as she looked at him with an intense look in her eye that Gohan could not quite decipher. He gazed into her eyes, as if hypnotized. It was as if her eyes were pleading with him, pleading for him to believe that she did in fact worry about him. As if they were trying to convince him that he was worth something.

Gohan broke the connection, his eyes flitting down to the counter and lingering on the tape label with the name _O'Brian_ on it. Gohan shut his eyes and drew in a very slow breath. Of course he didn't actually think that's what her eyes were saying. Eyes couldn't _say_ anything, really. And where did that last thought come from? He scoffed. As if he needed confirmation of his worth.

Even as the thought echoed in his mind, Gohan thought back to all the times he struggled with his self deprecating thoughts. Gohan opened his eyes and was again staring at the label. _O'Brian._ Then, a thought entered his mind so swiftly, it cut through his muddled brain like a knife in butter. ' _What is my life even worth?'_ Gohan was startled out of his thoughts as Bulma sighed dramatically. "Fine." She stated airily.

"Fine." She stated more firmly and sighed again. Then she pushed herself off the edge of the countertop and started walking towards the door. Then, halfway to her destination, she stopped. She talked without turning to address him, seeming to talk openly to the room, "Although," she started softly, "if anyone was in need of any really good equipment for a very _illegal_ project," she took a breath, "you can find it in the storage room in the boxes on the top shelf." Then she continued out of the room, leaving Gohan alone.

Gohan huffed out a laugh and smiled, shaking his head in amusement. Of course she would still find a way to help him. Flicking his eyes over the door of mentioned storage room, he thought to himself, ' _Might as well check it out.'_

After turning on the light in the, surprisingly spacious, room, Gohan located seven boxes full of equipment. Unfortunately, because he wasn't sure what was in each box he was going to have to pull down each one and sort through it all. Gohan sighed and pulled down the first box. He walked out of the room, kicking the door shut behind him. He set the box down gently on the lab bench directly across from the blood specimens. Then he turned to the petri dishes and set about carefully storing them in a refrigerated capsule.

After he was done with that, which took a lot longer than one might think, Gohan turned back to the cardboard box full of equipment. Reaching for the radio, he took a cleansing breath and turned it on. If he was going to sit there and sort out seven boxes of science equipment, he wanted to at least have some entertainment while doing it. And as the song _Weird Science_ started to play, Gohan started pulling out instruments from the box. A smile tugged at his lips as he listened to the song. ' _Fitting.'_ He thought.

 **DBZ**

Gohan sighed as he set the second to last box on the ground. He stood straight and stretched his taut muscles, listening to the radio.

" _Coming up in a few minutes we have_ No One Lives Forever, by Oingo Boingo. _Right now we have a caller's session. The topic is Pet Peeves: what bothers you the most?"_

Gohan took a deep breath and picked up the box of equipment and headed back to the storage room.

" _... go ahead and call in."_

Gohan opened the door and walked inside. He reached up to replace the box back onto the shelf and grabbed the one next to it. ' _This is the last one.'_ He thought happily. However, as he was taking the box off of the shelf it caught on the box next to it and knocked it to the floor. Startled, Gohan slid the box he had in his hands back on the shelf before dropping down to attend to the contents on the floor.

" _It looks like we have our first caller! What's your name caller?"_

" _Hi! My name is Rebekah!"_

" _Hi Rebekah! What is your pet peeve?"_

" _Oh, well I…"_

Gohan allowed the sound of the radio fade into the background as he examined the box's contents. He blinked as picked up a magazine. ' _Why would Bulma have a box full of old magazines in her lab?'_ He flipped over the magazine and read its cover page.

' _ **Bio-mechanics: The Future of Science?'**_ It read. On the front cover were pictures of multiple people, of what he supposed were scientists, the focus being a picture of Bulma right in the center.

Gohan chuckled. "Of course Bulma would have a box full of science magazines." He shook his head in amusement before placing the magazine in the box. ' _Especially ones with her face on them.'_ He thought. He was about to pick it up and put it back on the shelf, but stopped as something caught his eye. He felt his heart skip a beat. He put the box back down and picked up the magazine again, this time examining it more closely. Gohan felt his breath hitch as he read the lines again.

' _ **Interviews with Dr. Briefs, Dr. Flappe, Dr. Gero, and many more!'**_

Gohan read and reread that line over and over again. He only vaguely realized his hands were shaking. ' _Why?'_ He thought. ' _Why is this shaking me up? Why do I feel so … anxious?'_ As he read the line again, he suddenly recalled his dream.

" _...our father, Dr. Gero, created us for the sole purpose of killing Son Goku."_

Isn't that what Android Seventeen had said to him? Dr. Gero?

Gohan looked back down at the magazine and read the man's name again, feeling a shiver tickle his spine. His breathing picked up as he gripped the magazine tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white.

How could this happen? It was almost as if the madman had announced to the world what he was going to unleash. Had no one honestly seen this coming?

Gohan felt himself break out in a nervous sweat and he scowled. He let out a shaky breath and rolled the magazine, clenching it in a single fist, and stood. He knew he was going to confront Bulma about this, but he needed to approach it carefully. If she didn't know or hadn't already made the connection, he wasn't about to change that. He needed to find out more before taking action.

Gohan slipped the magazine into his back pocket and reached for the box of equipment. He would address the matter later. Right now, he needed to try and finish up in the lab for the day. Going through the box didn't take as long as he thought it would. He put the equipment out on the table and put the box back in the storage room. Then he started putting his blood samples away, vowing to come back tomorrow and figure out what was causing this sudden sickness.

Gohan shut off the radio and trotted upstairs, looking at his watch. _4:07 pm._ It was late afternoon. There was just enough time to take a shower and talk to Bulma before she started cooking dinner.

Gohan sighed in relief as he peeled his shirt off. It felt nice to be out of the lab. As he started taking off his pants, he remembered that the magazine was in his back pocket. He pulled it out, unrolled it, and reread the cover once again. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. He hadn't felt much after the initial shock of the discovery. If his suspicions are proved correct, then that means there would be a chance of defeating the androids without having to destroy them.

He supposed he should feel excited at the prospect. He had struggled against the androids for many years now without an end in sight, but now? Now …

The probability of defeating the androids had increased dramatically, and not just because he found a stupid magazine by chance. No. It was also because …

It was because he wasn't alone anymore.

Gohan felt his shoulders relax at the thought, as if a huge burden had been lifted off of his shoulders. And, really, it had. He had fought alone for so long now that the thought of help hadn't even crossed his mind as a possibility. He had once entertained the thought of training Trunks and allowing him to help once he got older, but had quickly dismissed the idea. First off, Trunks was just too young and he wanted the younger boy to have a slightly longer childhood than he had had. Secondly, Gohan had really hoped he would have defeated the androids before Trunks would be old enough to fight them.

The faces of his friends and family flashed through Gohan's mind. He had been denying their presence, unaccepting of their help, ever since he found out that they were around. He had told himself that it was his burden, one that he needed to face alone.

Gohan let out a breath. It _is_ his burden. They had their shot and now they're dead (even if they are in the realm of the living right at this moment). It was up to Gohan to defeat the deadly duo. However, he was able breath a little easier knowing that if he did need their help they would come to his aide in a heartbeat.

Gohan smiled slightly and closed his eyes. That was a nice thought. Then he took a deep breath and carefully set the magazine down on his dresser. He stared at it for another moment before grabbing his towel and headed to the bathroom for a well deserved shower..

 **DBZ**

With a towel around his waist, Gohan emerged from the steam filled bathroom. He walked up to his dresser and turned on the radio. He absently listened as a happy tune filled the previously quiet room and started digging through his dresser for suitable clothes. Gohan undid the towel around his waist and flung it onto the bed. The readers vividly imagined a few water droplets from his still wet hair travel down the side of his neck and into the hollow of his throat. They avidly read as the water traveled down his well toned chest and hard abs. They continued to read as the droplet traveled even further south, past his navel, and - AHEM! (A/N: apologies, but the author must get back on track now)

Now that Gohan was fully dressed, he made his way down the hall as clanging metal reached his ears from the kitchen. He smiled as he entered, but was surprised to find it empty other than the blue haired woman at the stove. The emptiness, however, worked to his advantage he thought as he reached to pull out the magazine from his back pocket.

Gohan pulled out a chair, the legs scraping against the tile. Burma looked up, startled, before she smiled at him.

"Finally out of that lab, huh?" She asked with amusement, turning back to the stove.

Gohan smiles, but remains quiet.

"The others went out to train again. Honestly I'm surprised they can find a place big enough for their barbaric brawls." Gohan's smile widened as he listened to Bulma talk. It had been a while since he'd seen her like this. It was nice. In fact, the last time she had talked this animatedly was right before his mother had died. At the thought, Gohan's smile took on a sad edge. He forced himself to focus on Bulma's words. " … and they took Trunks with them. Against my better judgement I allowed him to go. I just hope he comes back in one piece." She said sardonically.

When she turned to him, her eyebrows scrunched together in worry. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Gohan blinked and tilted his head slightly. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "You have this weird look on your face. I just wanted to know that you were okay." She said softly, pulling out a chair for herself. She sat down and rested her arms on the table, her hands folded in front of her, her eyes holding a silent invitation.

Gohan took a deep breath. ' _This is it.'_ he thought. "Actually, you might be able to help me with something." He slid the magazine that was off to the side in front of him, catching the blue haired woman's attention.

She smiled when she caught a glimpse of the cover. She looked up at him and chuckled. "I see you found a box full of my old magazines. Wasn't I just adorable back then?" She asked, striking the same pose as the one on the magazine cover.

Despite himself, Gohan laughed. "Bulma," he started as soon as his laughter died into chuckles, "that was only like six or seven years ago."

Bulma smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "I know. I age so well, don't I?" She asked sweetly, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Gohan rolled his eyes and scoffed, amused at her behavior. "Modest." He quipped.

She barked out a laugh and leaned forward, steepling her hands underneath her chin before asking, "What is it you wanted to know?"

Gohan broke eye contact and flicked his eyes down to look at the cover again, those words from his dream ringing in his ears:

" _Dr. Gero, created us for the sole purpose of killing Son Goku."_

"I was just wondering," he started slowly, "if you could tell me anything about Dr. Gero?" he asked, his finger gently tapping on the name that spilled across the bottom left corner of the magazine cover.

Bulma stared at the name for a few silent minutes before looking up at him again. "I don't really remember much, and what I do remember probably won't be much help." She said. She got up and pushed in her chair before walking back over to the stove full of forgotten food. "Why do you want to know?"

Gohan mentally cursed her for asking. He couldn't lie to her, but he didn't exactly want to tell her the truth yet. Afterall, most of his clues come from his adolescent nightmarish memories and his experiences fighting the androids. He didn't want to make anything of this yet if he didn't have to. "Just curious I guess. He seems like a pretty good scientist from the way this magazine portrays him."

His statement caused Bulma to scoff. "Yeah, maybe at one point…. " She trailed off. She stayed quiet after that and Gohan was afraid she wasn't going to say anymore on the subject, so she startled him when she spoke again. "At one time, Dr. Gero had been a talented scientist from a meager village. He came here to West City to sell some of his products and ultimately became my father's rival."

"What is it that he wanted to sell?" Gohan asked.

Bulma rolled her eyes to the ceiling and rested her chin between her thumb and forefinger in thought. "I believe he wanted to sell military grade weapons to the public."

Gohan straightened a little in surprise.

"Although," She continued, "I don't think he was very successful."

"Go figure." Gohan mumbled to himself.

Bulma let out a breath. "Then my father created the all purpose capsule and I think Gero became bitter. Not sure what happened to him after that."

Gohan hesitated before asking his question, "Is there anything else you can tell me?" He cringed as Bulma turned to him, her face twisted into a half hesitant half amused look. Perhaps he was being a bit too eager. He really didn't want her to call him out on his earlier bluff.

However, to his utter relief, she didn't question him. Instead, she gave him a small smile and said, "Well, I think I did hear something about Gero getting interested in biomechanics."

Gohan tensed at her statement, but it didn't seem like the woman noticed because she continued without a hitch. "A good thing that. We could really use more scientists in that field. I wonder if he's still alive?" She wondered to herself.

' _I hope not.'_ Gohan thought wryly. ' _Because if he is, that means he's making even more killing machines and that's just not a thought I need in my life.'_ Gohan let out a weary sigh.

"Anyway," Bulma said, continuing their conversation, "long story short, Dr. Gero was a great scientist." Then she sighed wistfully and turned her eyes to the ceiling. "What I wouldn't do to get my hands on his work." She turned to him, a dreamy look still on her face, and absently said, "Dinner will be done soon."

Gohan smiled as he watched her. Lately she seemed more relaxed. He attributed that to their dead friends and family suddenly coming back. "Hey, I'm just going to put this," he waved the magazine a little, "in my room. I'll be right back."

"Oh! That's right!" Bulma suddenly exclaimed, startling Gohan. "There is one more thing about Dr. Gero that I've heard, but I'm not sure if the information is correct." She paused, making sure she had Gohan's full attention. "I heard a few years back that he had a lab hidden somewhere in North city. Not sure if that helps, but - there your go!" She said and smiled.

Gohan returned with a small smile of his own and turned to leave the room. ' _A lab, huh?'_ He thought. ' _I wonder if I should try and find it.'_ As he entered his room, he was surprised to hear sounds coming from the radio. "I guess I forgot to turn it off." He said.

He set the magazine down and reached to turn off the sound box, but stopped when the song that had been playing abruptly cut off.

" _We are interrupting this regularly scheduled program to give you an update on android activity."_

Gohan froze, hand hovering over the power button. He fixed a steely gaze on the radio's speaker, as if he could will the words out of the reporter with just a stare.

" _The androids have left Peppa Village and are heading south towards Turmeric Town. I repeat: the androids have left Peppa Village and are heading to Tumeric are advised to start evacuations immediately."_

Gohan, as if he were pushed, snapped into action. He turned off the radio and made sure he was wearing his watch before opening the window in his room and jumping out of it. He headed straight for Tumeric Town. He didn't bother stopping off at Peppa Village. He was sure there wasn't anything left. With small towns like that, it was easy for the androids to go overboard. They preferred destroying the bigger cities because people would come back to inhabit them which meant they could come back and destroy it again.

Gohan scowled at that bit of information his mind had supplied him with. He pressed the button on his watch and his orange and blue gi appeared in place of his daily clothes. A fierce look shinned in his eyes. He was determined to finish them this time.

He just wanted his nightmare to end.

 **DBZ**

Bulma was humming to herself and had just started to set the table when the band of ruffians she calls family came walking through the front door. They entered just as she turned back to the stove.

"Mmmm. Smells delicious, Bulma. Can't wait to eat!"

She didn't have to turn to look to know who had said that. A small smile stretched across her lips. However, when she did turn around to address them she made sure a scowl lined her face.

"I don't think so, buster!" She snapped, causing Goku to jump from the table as if it were on fire. "None of you get to sit down until you've cleaned yourselves up. I don't want you coming in here and messing up my perfectly cleaned kitchen!" Actually, she hadn't cleaned the kitchen, other than doing a few loads of dishes, since the other day … but they didn't need to know that.

"Go wash up." She demanded. "NOW!" She snapped when none of them made a move to follow her order. "That especially means you, Trunks!" She yelled down the hall as they all had started to move. She turned back to the stove as they left and smiled to herself. As she was pouring the food into serving dishes a voice suddenly spoke, startling her.

"You know," Piccolo said, "even though you act like how you did before we died, it's obvious that this is no longer how you normally act."

Bulma was prepared to yell at him, embarrassed that he managed to startle her, but her demeanor deflated at his statement. Instead of offering a reply, she turned back to finnish her task in silence. It wasn't until she was finished putting food on the table that she spoke again. "You're right." She said.

"I have changed." She continued. "Living through all of this death and destruction … after a while it really starts to eat away at your soul." Bulma sat in one of the chairs and made herself comfortable. Then, a cynical smile rose upon her lips. "If you think I've changed … well … Gohan is the one who has changed the most. Being a teenager aside, he really has had it rough." Before she could say anymore, the others walked into the kitchen.

As soon as she saw them, her demeanor changed completely. She flashed them a smile and gestured to the lovely spread. "Alright guys! Enjoy!"

"Oh boy!" Goku exclaimed with childlike glee. He sat down and, foregoing utensils, immediately reached for the serving dish closest to him.

Bulma whipped her hand out and smacked him, exclaiming, "Table manners, Goku!" And when he pouted, rubbing his wrist, she huffed out a breath and said, "God, you're like a child." She grabbed his plate and started piling food on it. "Here." She said, setting the now full plate in front of him. He immediately started gobbling it down. "Next time, use your utensils." She said before turning to her own meal.

The blue haired woman paused in consuming her meal and blinked, as if just remembering something. "Hey," she said, gaining the attention of a few around the table. "I wonder where Gohan is?" Then she turned her head to peer into the entryway, willing him to appear.

"What do you mean?" Krillin inquired. "He's not even here."

"What?" Bulma said, her face pinching in confusion, her voice laced with worry. At her tone, Goku started to slow his pace of food consumption to better listen to their conversation.

"He didn't tell you he was going somewhere?" Yamcha asked.

Bulma shook her head. "No. He told me he was going to his room to put something down and then said he'd be right back. I wonder what made him leave like that, unannounced." She wondered to herself. Then she gasped, her face filling with horror.

"What, what is it?" Krillin asked?

"The only thing that would make him take off like that would be something to do with the androids." She said.

Goku paused, fork halfway to his mouth, his mind already locking on to his son's power signature.

"You don't think he went to go fight them, do you?" Tien asked everyone sitting at the table.

However, his question was answered when there was a sudden spike in Gohan's power level. Krillin jumped up, hands slamming down on the table. "We've got to go help him!" He exclaimed.

Goku was already gone.

 **DBZ**

Gohan could see pillars of smoke rising from Tumeric Town, coloring the sky black. The scene looked eerily similar to the last time he had faced the demonic duo, except blood did not cover the streets and the stench of death did not cling to the air. The blacktop was still cracked, but it always was whenever they were around. He slowly walked down the main street of the town, trying to follow the android's path of destruction.

"Hey, look Eighteen." A voice sounded behind him, making Gohan freeze. "It's our favorite toy."

Gohan slowly turned around to face them. He didn't think he would find them this easily. Unless …

"Hey, where're your _friends_ Gohan? I was _so_ looking forward to seeing them again. Afterall," Eighteen said, "I need to repay your dear old dad for that hit he got in on me." She said. Fury was coming off of her in waves.

So, they _were_ waiting for him. They were trying to lure him out with the hope that he would have brought along the rest of them. However, he decided to play dumb for now. One corner of his lips turned up, giving them a lopsided grin. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said.

His comment only seemed to anger Eighteen even more. "Don't give us that bulshit. You know _exactly_ what we're talking about." Then, she got ready to lunge at Gohan, but Seventeen held his arm in front of her before she could take off.

"Let's just cut to the chase, shall we?" The raven android said. "We want to know where Goku is and I'm pretty sure that you're going to tell us."

Gohan's eyebrow twitched as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. "Oh yeah?" He said, "And how's that?"

Seventeen's face darkened in malicious glee. "Because we're going to make you."

Then the androids disappeared from their spot and reappeared on either side of Gohan with their hands outstretched, palms facing him. Gohan crouched, ready to lunge out of the way of the ki attacks that were starting to form in their hands. Gohan started to raise his power level, but before he could reach super saiyan, they launched a volley of powerful energy bombs. The only thing he could do was dodge, but because he was unable to achieve super saiyan, a lot of their attacks managed to graze and scorch his skin. Then, as suddenly as it started, the volley stopped. Gohan took that opportunity to power up to super saiyan and managed to catch the simultaneous punches that were thrown at him.

Gohan made sure he had a good grip on the android's wrists before he spun and flung android Seventeen into the sky while he whipped android Eighteen out to the left. As Seventeen tried to right himself in the air, Eighteen threw another volley of energy blasts that he managed to dodge more gracefully this time. The blasts stopped and as soon as one of his feet touched the ground Seventeen was on top of him, aiming a punch for his face. He caught the fist and delivered a kick to the android's side. After the android was thrown away, android Eighteen popped out of the ground beneath him. He jumped, but was unable to avoid the uppercut.

She followed up with a swift kick to his midsection that sent him flying backwards. Before he could recover, android Seventeen was behind him with palms full of gathered energy. He let Gohan fly into his outstretched arms before letting the energy go. This sent Gohan flying back towards Eighteen who dropped to the ground, propping herself onto her hands, kicking her legs out and digging her feet into Gohan's abdomen, sending him into the air. Both androids jumped into the air after him. Gohan managed to right himself before they were on him once again.

They exchanged blows, the androids gaining the upper hand. In unison, both android Seventeen and Eighteen somersaulted in the air with their legs extended, their heels connected with the back of Gohan's skull sending him back down to Earth. Gohan collided with the blacktop, creating a huge crater. Getting back up was harder than before. He must have really been injured that time. Checking himself, he confirmed that his right hip had been dislocated. He didn't get the chance to fix it, for the androids were already gearing up for their next attack.

Looking up, he saw that they landed on top of a nearby building, back to back with arms outstretched, their index finger and thumb in the shape of a gun. Gohan grit his teeth, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge this time, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying. He tensed when the energy started to form at the tip of their fingers. Then, the first shot was let loose and Gohan barely managed to dodge. That seemed to be the catalyst, as a multitude of miniature ki blasts sailed through the air.

' _These are different from before.'_ Gohan thought. ' _These blasts are sharper and more powerful and focused than the ones before.'_

Gohan bit his lip when one managed to graze his right thigh and left forearm. He cried out as one of them went straight through his left shoulder and right foot. The pain from his dislocated hip made him want to stop, but he knew he had to keep dodging. Another blast grazed his left calf and managed to go right through the top of his right ear. He fell to his knees to avoid a shot to the head and then lunged to the right, landing on his dislocated limb and failing to dodge a blast that hit his left side. He rolled onto his back, hitting his head against the ground, and put his hands against the concrete. He pushed himself up with all of his might and managed to stand in an upright position.

Gohan closed his eyes against the pain and braced himself for their next attack. However, no attack came. Panting, Gohan fell to one knee and opened his eyes. He tilted his head up to see a figure standing in front of him, the wrist of each android in one hand, blocking what he supposed was meant for him. The figure turned his head to look at Gohan.

"Are you alright, Gohan?" He asked.

"D-Dad?" Gohan stuttered out, still panting.

Goku smiled tightly at him, though it came out more like a grimace. "I'm glad you're okay." He said.

Not sure what to say, Gohan only nodded dumbly at him. Goku's smile softened at the reaction. Then, he threw the androids away from him. They skid to a stop a few meters from the father son duo. Both of the androids had a smirk on their faces.

"Finally." Eighteen breathed.

"We finally meet, Son Goku." Seventeen said.

"You've been looking for me?" Goku stated, though it came out as a question.

"For many years." Seventeen replied. Then, he chuckled in dark amusement. "Today is a glorious day."

"Oh?" Goku replied, not really interested. "And why's that?"

"Because." Seventeen started. A vicious smile spread across his face, his eyes forming upside down u's as his teeth, one by one, started to show. "Today is the day you're going to die!" He snarled. Then, he and android Eighteen cackled as they crouched into fighting stances.

Goku's eyed hardened as he went to do the same.

"Dad?" Gohan said hesitantly, sound more like a frightened child more than the mighty warrior Goku knew him to be.

"Don't worry, Gohan." Goku said as he narrowed his eyes at the beings who has caused so much pain and suffering, especially when it came to his little boy. He clenched his fists. "Just let your daddy handle this one."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everybody! Welcome back and thank you for joining me again for another great chapter (if I do say so myself...)! I think this may actually be a record for me. Two chapters in less than two weeks...phew. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it. Let's just get right into it then, shall we?**

 **...**

 **To: ThickerThanLove**

 **I know! It had really been a while since I last updated and I'm so sorry for that. It had been like, what ... four months? Five? I don't know. It was a really long time and I never want that to happen again. Thanks for sticking with me! ;)**

 **Thank you so much! I'm really glad you said that actually. I was kinda afraid that the way I had written some of the characters were a little TOO out of character.**

 **Lol. 'All a twitter'. Ah. I like that ... but in all seriousness, I'm really glad that you're excited! Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

 **...**

 **To: ashlovesdbz**

 **You're welcome! I do love writing. I like it even more when people enjoy what I write. Especially when you (you? they? I don't know ... ) smile.**

 **I love writing Gohan's character because he's honestly such a free little thing. And by that I mean you can make him as complicated as you want him to be. He can be happy, he can be angsty, he can have bipolarness, I don't know! He can literally be anything you want him to be. And that is because he's gone through so much shit, that his reaction to any situation can literally be anything.**

 **Anyway, stepping off my soap box there ...**

 **Ah! You're the first person to have commented on the epidemic! And oho boy, I'm so glad you did! No mention of it in this chapter, and I'm not sure if it will make it into the next chapter, but it's coming! And it's gonna get a lot worse.**

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **...**

 **To: SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta**

 **No they do not. But you know, the androids to me have always seemed a little too cocky. Especially the ones from the future timeline.  
**

 **Thank you for taking up the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **...**

 **To: tiddlestide**

 **When I read your first sentence I was like 'oh, they don't like it. I must suck. what have I done?!'**

 **But then I read the rest of your review and then I felt very proud. Very very proud. And a very warm feeling filled my chest, uplifting my spirit and motivating me to write more for the fanfiction gods! ...**

 **Was that too dramatic? If it is, I'm not sorry. It is a very accurate description of how I felt.**

 **Thank you for reviewing I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

 **...**

 **Alright people! One more thing before the chapter starts! This chapter is NOT the last one. I still have at least a handful planned before I even think about ending this story. Also wanted to say that this chapter is a little shorter than the other ones, but by no means is it any less action packed (I actually think there might be more action than what's in the other ones). Also, this first scene with the androids kinda drags a little, but I totally think it's worth it and I'm very proud of it.  
**

 **I really hope you guys enjoy.**

 **...**

 **Destruction**

 _Last time:_

 _Android Seventeen and android Eighteen cackled as they crouched into fighting stances._

 _Goku's eyed hardened as he went to do the same._

" _Dad?" Gohan said hesitantly, sound more like a frightened child more than the mighty warrior Goku knew him to be._

" _Don't worry, Gohan." Goku said as he narrowed his eyes at the beings who has caused so much pain and suffering, especially when it came to his little boy. He clenched his fists. "Just let your daddy handle this one."_

 _Now:_

A blast of bright light filled his vision. After it settled down, Gohan was staring at his father in his super saiyan form. He stared at his father, amazed. ' _He's much stronger than I am.'_ His eyes shifted over to the android duo standing a little ways away. ' _But is that enough to face them?'_

Without any warning, both the androids and his father took off towards each other, meeting in the middle and creating a large crater from the force of their initial blow and forcing Gohan to scramble away from the debris. Before he could move to help, the others landed in front of him. Piccolo gently knelt next to him and helped him stand. They all watched as Goku traded equal blows with each android. Each time their fists connected, the ground cracked and the sky echoed with the booming sound of clashing powers.

Goku punched android Seventeen in the face, causing him to fly backwards, and side stepped a punch aimed at his midsection from android Eighteen. Vegeta took the opening presented and jumped right into the fight, jumping to super saiyan and kicking the blonde android in the abdomen. She flew back into her brother, who had just recovered himself, and both collided with the building behind them. Before the building crumbled, both androids were already standing in front of the Saiyan duo, clothes and hair disheveled and smudges of dirt visible on their skin.

"This is my fight, Vegeta." Goku growled, watching as the smoke from the fallen building masked the androids' visual presence. "Stay out of it."

Vegeta scoffed in response. "They didn't kill you, Kakarot. I have just as much right to this fight as you do."

Both Saiyans stood, angled toward each other, eyes never leaving their opponents. After a moment Vegeta growled, snapping his head to look at Goku. "Why are we going easy on them, Kakarot? Why don't we just crush these over-glorified washing machines?"

Goku didn't get the chance to respond, the dark haired android doing so for him. "You're both pretty good, but I doubt you'd be able to defeat us." Seventeen paused, brushing some dirt off his clothes. "Besides," he said in a bored voice. "I don't feel like killing you again, Vegeta."

Vegeta twitched at the statement, but didn't react otherwise.

"He's right." Eighteen said. "We only want to get the chance to kill Goku. We don't need to play with his sloppy seconds." She smirked confidently at Vegeta.

Vegeta clenched his fists. "That's it. If you don't act right now, Kakarot," Yellow wisps of dense energy started licking at the air around Vegeta. "You won't get a chance!" He yelled, springing forward with a fist extended in front of him. Goku kept his hardened eyes on the androids, but did not stop the Saiyan Prince.

The android's eyes bulged as they jumped in opposite directions, Vegeta having split them apart. They had barely managed to dodge. Things seemed to move in slow motion as they watched Vegeta turn his head to look at each of them from the corner of his eye, dislodging his fist from the concrete, and, with the debris falling down around them, stood, his back facing the android duo. Before their feet could touch the ground, Vegeta launched an energy blast at android Seventeen and sprang forward towards Eighteen, striking her face. Both hits seemed to land at the same time. Android Seventeen flew backwards and hit the ground, rolling to a stop. He struggled to get back up.

With Eighteen, however, Vegeta pushed his advantage, landing several blows to her person, making sure she couldn't block or retaliate. After several blows to every part of her body, Vegeta reared his arm back, palm open, and delivered an energy blast to Eighteen's midsection. Her body collided with the ground and she skid to a stop a few kilometers away.

Seventeen, having managed to pick himself up, launched himself at Vegeta, his arm extended and hand closed in a fist. Vegeta turned to his assailant and, with just a finger, diverted Seventeen's fist up into the air. Seventeen's eyes widened in alarm and he brought his other hand forward to protect himself, but it was too late. Vegeta extended his own arm to the side and the dark haired android flew right into it. Successfully clothes lined, Seventeen's feet flew out from underneath him and, stunned, was unable to block Vegeta's fist as it made contact with his chest.

Seventeen's body burrowed itself into the ground with the force of the hit. He cringed at the pain and just as he started to push himself up, Vegeta's visage appeared in his line of vision. The android froze, wide eyes fixed upon the commanding presence above him. He flinched when Vegeta smirked and crouched, one arm reaching for the android. Seventeen didn't have enough mind to fight back as the gloved fingers closed around the collar of his shirt, lifting him out of the ground and into the air. Vegeta's face darkened with twisted amusement, causing the android in his grip to shake with an unknown emotion. Vegeta threw him up into the air briefly and whipped out a leg as he came back down, catching the android in the side and sending him towards his sister. This time, Seventeen collided with Eighteen and both fell back down to the ground.

"Get off of me, you idiot." Eighteen grumbled, pushing her brother off of her. She got onto her knees, a leg sliding across the floor until a foot managed to connect with the ground. She kneeled in that position, panting. Seventeen, who had rolled onto his back, managed to prop himself on his elbows and lifted his head towards the Saiyan Prince, android Eighteen doing the same.

Vegeta was walking towards them, but stopped when he was only a few feet away from them. His face was strangely blank. Eighteen tried to get to her feet, but failed, falling back down to all fours. Seventeen tried to do the same and also failed, falling back down onto his back. Eighteen glared at the Vegeta's indifferent look.

The only thing Gohan could do was look on at the scene with pure astonishment. How many years had it been … how many years had it taken him to be able to even survive against the androids let alone fight them? How many times had he failed to defeat them? And yet, Vegeta had managed to do something Gohan had never even dreamed was possible. In less than five minutes, Vegeta had both androids down on their knees. What did that say about all of his work? What did that say about him?

Gohan clenched his fists, eyes closed tight in mental anguish. Had all of his suffering been for nothing? How? How was it possible for Vegeta to do something like this? How was the Saiyan Prince succeeding where he had failed?

Gohan's eyes snapped open and lifted his head when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He followed the arm to the face of its owner. Krillin stood there, a kind smile on his face and love in his eyes. "It's okay." He said. "You're not alone anymore." Then he squeezed Gohan's shoulder in reassurance.

Without his permission, Gohan's eyes pooled with tears, his gaze never leaving Krillin's. Then, he swallowed thickly and closed his eyes against the wetness, willing his tears to go away. When he felt the burning sensation in his eyes cease, he thought it was safe enough to open his eyes again. When he did, Krillin's expression hadn't changed and when he looked into the man's eyes he knew Krillin wasn't judging him, which he appreciated. Krillin broke eye contact and turned his head towards the battle before them, Gohan doing the same.

His eyes connected with his father's back and he stared at the man for a minute. Goku looked relaxed, but Gohan knew that he wasn't. He had his arms crossed in front of him. His normally black hair was spiked up in blonde locks, as per the norm of super saiyan. He exuded power and that made Gohan feel warm. Not just warm. He felt safe. Gohan's posture relaxed, his shoulders slumping, and leaned heavily into Piccolo who was still supporting him. The corners of his eyes seemed to loosen and his eyes softened as his face took on a tired look. He felt the fight leaving his mind, body, and, most importantly, his heart.

Gohan tilted his head back as he again fought the tears that entered his eyes. He rolled his eyes up and gently closed his eyelids, letting out a long and drawn out breath. He stood in that position for a minute, taking in slow and steady breaths. With each exhale, he mentally pictured his worries exit his body like toxins flowing from his system. Each inhale felt like breathing new life. The feeling was glorious.

He wasn't alone anymore …

… and he never wanted to be alone _ever_ again.

After gathering himself, and taking another refreshing breath, Gohan lowered his head and opened his eyes. His gaze lingered on his father's back for another moment before sliding over to where Vegeta still stood in front of the androids. Said androids had yet to pick themselves up off of the ground.

Suddenly, Vegeta spoke. "I think I should let you know that I'm testing a theory of sorts." He said nonchalantly. He didn't give the androids a chance to react as he smirked and said, "You see, I've always wondered: do androids such as yourself feel fear?" He questioned innocently.

It was deathly quiet after for a moment before Vegeta's mocking chuckles quietly sounded through the air. "Oho, wait. You've already given me my answer." He said, dark amusement lighting up his eyes as he peered down at them.

"You cocky bastard." Eighteen growled out. "I'll show you!" Then, somehow, she jumped to her feet, using the momentum to deliver an uppercut to Vegeta's chin.

Right before the blow could land, Vegeta reached up and gently cupped her fist, blocking what could have been a painful blow, before tightening his grip. The female android tried to wiggle free of his grasp, but was unable to. He stared at her, an evil smirk blooming across his lips. He loosened his grip slightly only to tighten it again the next, breaking the blonde android's fingers. She screamed and fell to her knees, her hand still in the Saiyan's painful grip.

"And now we know you feel pain." He said.

Android Seventeen looked on, his face contorted into what looked like horror. He didn't move a muscle to help his sister. Vegeta flicked his wrist and the blonde android fell onto her butt, cradling her hand against her chest. Her other hand was on the ground, supporting her body weight. She snapped her head up to look at the Saiyan Prince, a glare upon her face, but she faltered when her eyes connected with his.

Vegeta stood above her, arms crossed against his chest, looking down at her as if she were a bug that he didn't even want to bother squishing. The setting sun cast eerie shadows across his face and that coupled with the oddly empty look in the Saiyan's eyes made her stomach drop.

Before she knew what she was doing, Eighteen scrambled to get away from him, only managing a few inches before she collapsed onto her side, her broken hand still cradled against her chest. She tilted her head to look up at Vegeta again, who hadn't moved and only watched her with his eyes. "W-Why?" She stuttered out in a small voice.

"Because I feel like it." Vegeta bit out immediately.

"Wh-What?" The android stuttered, shaking.

Vegeta blinked slowly, as if not understanding her question. Instead of answering her, he said, "Tell me, android: are you afraid?" He crouched down, leaning forward so his face was closer to hers. "Tell me." He repeated. Then, he leaned in closer, causing the female to flinch, and whispered in her ear, "I want to hear the words fall from your lips."

Android Eighteen flinched again at his words and started shaking more violently. She closed her eyes in fear, but said nothing.

"Fine." He said, pulling himself away from her. "Then tell me this." He paused. "How's it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?" He spit out acidicly.

Not waiting for an answer, Vegeta reared his leg back and, with more force than he had used previously, kicked the android, his toes connecting with her chin. She rolled backwards, passed her brother who didn't move his gaze from the Saiyan Prince.

"This is a bit boring. I'm not even at full strength." Vegeta said, causing the two androids gape in shock. Vegeta smirked. "If you're so afraid of me," Vegeta started, "you should know that Kakarot over there," he jutted his thumb in the other full blooded Saiyan's direction, " - no matter how upsetting it is for me to admit out loud - is even stronger than I am."

Both androids managed to drag themselves to their feet, still shaking. They both slowly looked over to the orange clad warrior before looking back to Vegeta. "N-No way." Seventeen breathed in disbelief.

"That's right." Vegeta said, a nasty smirk splayed across his face. "And now it's time for you to die." He lifted an arm, palm flat, fingers together, and thumb bent. "I just wanted you to know how outclassed you were in every way before I killed you."

"No!" Seventeen snarled, gathering energy for his own attack. Eighteen snapped her head in his direction at his outburst, but then followed his lead. They gathered all the energy they had into the palms of their hands. Just not fast enough.

Vegeta disappeared from sight, reappearing right in front of the android duo. "Too late." He said, his voice ringing across the land. "Big Bang Attack!"

The sky lit up with blue light, blinding those observing and forcing them to shield their eyes. Only when the wind died down did they deem it safe enough to open their eyes once again and relax. It was silent on the battlefield. The only sound that echoed through the air was the sound of falling debris as it hit the ground.

Vegeta stood, his arm still extended, with a look of utter disbelief on his face. With all of his training in eloquence and his stature as a Saiyan royal, the only thing he managed to get out was, "W-wha?"

However, it was the android duo who were even more dumbfounded. They stood in their place, looking around with terrified eyes for the thing that stopped their demise. Then, through the dust that had not yet settled, the trio could make out slow and steady footsteps. And it wasn't just the androids who gaped at the man as he emerged from the smoke.

After his initial shock, Vegeta growled viciously. "What the hell, Kakarot!" He snarled. "Why did you stop me?!"

Goku only stood there in silence, his steady gaze locked onto the android duo. It wasn't until the smoke started to dissipate and the dust began to settle that Goku deemed it necessary to speak. "Let me kill them, Vegeta." He stated calmly.

"Why?!" Vegeta yelled. "So you can be praised a hero, like always?" He didn't wait for Goku to reply. "No! I will not stand for this! Not this time …. Never again!" Then, he started to gather energy for another attack.

"Wait, Vegeta … !" Goku said. The androids could only watch the exchange in a type of morbid fascination. "If you're so adamant about destroying them …. Why don't we destroy them together?"

So startled by the suggestion, Vegeta almost tripped over himself in surprise. "What? N-No!"

"Please, Vegeta." Goku said sincerely. "They may have killed you, but they hurt my friends. They tore apart my _family._ Please, _please,_ let me have this."

Vegeta stilled, looking at his rival from the corner of his eyes. He could tell from the man's posture that he was serious about what he had said. Vegeta let out a groan, almost as if he were in pain, before letting the rest of the air in his lungs flow passed his lips. He closed his eyes, his eyebrows low on his forehead, before taking a deep breath. "Fine, Kakarot." He said, then opened his eyes and smirked. "If you're sure you can handle it, I might just let you have one of them for yourself." He then shifted his gaze to the two still frozen androids in front of them, his eyes hardening. "Let me just make one thing clear." He paused.

In a low voice he said, "The woman is _mine._ " He clenched his fists.

Goku almost laughed at the absurdity of their situation. He never imagined he would get the chance to fight even one of the androids. He never thought he would walk the Earth again. He never could have hoped to see his son again, _alive._ He didn't laugh, but he did allow himself a small chuckle. After his amusement died down, he looked at Vegeta and said, "Agreed."

Vegeta smirked nastily. "Right then."

At the exact same moment, both Saiyans took off toward their opponent. They moved in sync. They each punched their assigned android in the face, chasing after them as they flew back from the force. They both landed several blows to each android before kicking them, their feet imbedded in the android's midsection. This time, when the androids flew backwards, the saiyans did not give chase. Instead, they both slowly rose into the air, back to back. a massive amount of energy building in front of their outstretched arms. The androids could only look on as their impending doom grew closer and closer. In retaliation, Both androids gathered as much energy as they could in their own hands.

' _This is it.'_ Gohan thought in anticipation. ' _This is the final blow.'_

Slowly, more and more energy was gathered by both parties. The androids glared at their saiyan opponents, while said opponents had indifferent looks upon their faces.

"Big Bang … " Vegeta started.

"Kamehameha!" Goku finished.

Their attack was released simultaneously, fighting for dominance before merging together and creating an even bigger, stronger attack. At the same time, the androids released their attacks as well. Both energy beams met in the middle. The energy blast sent by the androids struggled against the one sent by the saiyans, but only for a second before the Big Bang Kamehameha overpowered it and made its way closer to the androids.

Android Seventeen and Eighteen put their hands out in front of them to try and brace themselves against the blast, but it was all for nought. As soon as the blast made contact with the android duo it exploded, drowning out the pain filled and terrified screams of the demonic androids. Goku and Vegeta watched on, not bothering to protect themselves from the backlash, their hair waving with the wind the blast had created.

As the blast died down, and the dust and smoke just starting to settle, Goku and Vegeta touched down on the ground and slowly walked to where the androids had last stood. Satisfied, they walked calmly toward their audience.

The reactions were almost instantaneous. Loud cheers came from Krillin and Yamcha. Tien was more reserved than the previous two, but he too cheered and laughed. Piccolo, who was still supporting Gohan, smirked and gave a small chuckle.

Gohan felt a large smile blossom on his lips as he watched his father approach. Before he even realised what was happening, he felt the laughter building up and bubbling out of his mouth. It was a strange feeling really; he felt like he was vomiting. It wasn't until his father was standing in front him, a look of concern on his face, that he registered the hot tears streaming down his cheeks and the way his breath hitched and his voice cracked as the heart wrenching sobs escaped past his lips and shook his body.

As his sobs became more intense, Goku's eyes gained an edge of alarm and he lifted his arm and let his hand fall onto his sons shoulder. "Gohan?" He prodded gently. "Are you alright?"

Gohan lifted his head and looked at his father through eyes blurred with tears. Gohan gave a watery smile and tried to chuckle, but it came out as another sob. Gohan sagged completely against Piccolo, who started to slowly set him on the ground as to not further irritate his injuries. Gohan kneeled on the ground, hands covering his face, and cried all the tears of his bleeding heart, the tears he had kept bottled up for fear that they would make him weak. Gohan barely heard his father's voice calling him again. He was shaking violently, like a leaf in the wind. He wanted to stop crying, really he did, but once the tears had started it seemed like there was no end. It was a torrent tidal wave of emotion that flooded through his body and Gohan just couldn't manage to express it in any other way.

Tears still streamed down his face, but now that his had subsided he was able to speak. "For the last five years my life has consisted of the androids. All I've wanted to do was defeat them, to avenge your deaths." He paused to take a breath, then, looking up at his father, he said, "What am I supposed to want now?"

Gohan closed his eyes and took another breath. When he opened them again, they were filled with so much desperation that Goku only barely suppressed a flinch. "What am I supposed to do?" He asked, his voice shaking.

Goku stared into those pleading eyes wanting so badly to say something - anything - to comfort him, but his voice died in his throat. He wasn't sure how to answer. He wasn't sure he would say the right thing. He had never been in Gohan's shoes and, unfortunately, didn't understand what his life has been like since his death. He couldn't understand how Gohan feels because he had never been in a situation like this. He had never had to fight for his survival for many consecutive years like Gohan had. What was he supposed to say?

Fortunately, the green man beside him answered for him. "You keep going." He said. Gohan turned his head to look at Piccolo. "You pick yourself up and you keep moving forward."

"How?"

Piccolo was quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer. When he thought he had an adequate answer he spoke, his voice soft, firm, and slow. "Find something else to drive you forward." He paused, his eyes growing intense. "You have two very good legs, Gohan. It's up to you to stand up and use them."

Gohan blinked slowly, processing his words. He could feel the tears drying on his cheeks as his breathing returned to normal. He blinked again and swallowed thickly. "Okay." He said. "Okay." He said again, more firmly and with a nod. Then he slowly started to stand.

Goku smiled, sad but also proud. As soon as Gohan was on his feet, Goku moved to his side and helped support him. He smiled again. His son was a very strong person. That was something he was very proud of, if nothing else. "Let's go back to Bulma's okay? And tell her the good news." Goku said softly.

Gohan nodded and sniffed, not looking Goku in the eye. This, however, did not deter Goku in the slightest. Instead, he looked up at all of his friends, who - with the exception of Vegeta - were looking at Gohan with small smiles on their faces. Even Vegeta was politely quiet. After making eye contact with each of them, his eyes lingering on Vegeta's for a little longer, he nodded and gently grabbed his son under the shoulders. He was the first to make a slow ascent into the air and the others followed.

Once they were up in the air, Gohan angled his head over his father's shoulder so he could stare at the setting sun. The sun was dying the sky beautifully with deep oranges, bright, vibrant reds, and a strip of light purple, bringing with it the beginnings of nightfall. He couldn't help but stare at it, his mind blank. He couldn't help the thought that the setting sun was gorgeous. He'd never thought about that before, or rather, he never bothered to take notice.

Before today, he had associated the setting sun with death and decay. It had always made abandoned cities look eerie and made the emptiness more pronounced. He looked below them. They were currently making their way over one of the few forests that had survived the androids' attacks. He could see the trees, the birds, the grass, and the other animals within it. How could he have never taken notice of something like this before?

It didn't matter anymore because right now, in this moment, he was mesmerized by the beauty of it all. He had never thought the setting sun, the sky, the _world_ could be so … beautiful ….

… so absolutely gorgeous.

The image brought memories to the forefront of his mind. Memories he had tried to forget. Not because they were terrible memories, but because they were happy ones. Because everytime he thought about them it brought him such intense emotional pain that his chest would physically hurt.

One memory in particular came into focus far faster than he would have liked. It was of a time before his father had gotten sick. Himself, Krillin, his father, and even Piccolo had all decided to go on a camping trip. His mother had not been particularly happy about it, but she knew how much it meant to her son to spend time with his father and had allowed him to go. By the time he had successfully set up camp and started dinner, the sun had started to set.

And that would explain why he felt so nostalgic right now. The sun he was staring at now looked exactly like the one of that day. As he continued to stare at the sun, images of smiles and laughter flashed through his mind. And as his mind lingered on the smiling face of his father, whose eyes were upturned in laughter, he felt tears spring to his eyes again.

Damn.

He didn't want to cry again.

Had he always been such a crybaby?

Gohan closed his eyes against the tears, but the image of his father's smiling face became stronger and more clear making his tears fiercer.

God he was … _exhausted!_

He just wanted to lay down and sleep for a while. He deserved at least that much, didn't he?

And as that thought crossed his mind, it was like all of the experiences of past beatings were weighing down on him and his mind and body seemed to collapse. Gohan felt his eyes grow heavy and his body become heavy like lead. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, he fell into unconsciousness.

Goku felt the sudden weight against him and was forced to readjust. Now more comfortable, Goku smiled down at his son. His smile turned a little sour when he realized that even in sleep his son looked weary and worn down. ' _Years of fighting for your life will do that to you I suppose.'_ Goku thought to himself. ' _I won't let this happen again. Gohan will never have to go through something like this ever again. I won't allow it.'_ His hands clenched as he made his vow. ' _I promise you, Gohan …'_

' … _I won't leave you alone ever again.'_

 **DBZ**

When the group of warriors touched the ground, Bulma was already outside waiting for them. Relief flooded her when she saw that none of them were seriously hurt. She let out a shaky laugh and jogged towards them. The first person she went to was Gohan, her adoptive son. She gently caressed his cheek and put her other hand on his chest to reassure himself that he was still breathing. When she had confirmed what she already knew to be true, she closed her eyes and let out the breath she didn't even know she had been holding.

"Bulma, I have - " Goku stopped when the blue haired woman put up a hand.

"Let's tend to his wounds first." She said with a soft smile. The saiyan responded with a nod and a small smile of his own.

As soon as they broke through the threshold into the house Trunks ran up to them, questions flowing from his mouth in rapid fire. "Where'd you guys go? Why are you so dirty? Did you know you smell bad? What's wrong with Gohan? Is he hurt? How did he get hurt? Is he going to be okay?"

Before any of his questions could be answered, Bulma grabbed his attention. "Trunks." The lavender haired child turned to his mother who raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought I told you to go wait in your room."

The child shrugged non-committedly, his blue eyes full of childlike innocence, and said, "I know, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to know what was going on."

Bulme huffed and put her hands on her hips. She rolled her eyes and shook her head in disappointment, but it was betrayed by the smile that spread across her face.

"Just like his mother." Vegeta quipped, without thinking.

Bulma snapped her head towards him and Vegeta inwardly flinched, expecting a verbal onslaught for his remark. Instead, he was surprised when he found nothing but an intrigued look on her face and a curiousness in her eyes. Then, she smiled brightly at him, which he thought was a rather attractive look on her (something he would never admit to, even under threat of torture), and nodded.

Her smile turned sly as she said, "I suppose you're right." Then she gestured for Goku to follow her down the hall to get Gohan situated. "Stay with your father, Trunks!" She demanded.

Vegeta glared at her retreating form for sicking their inquisitive and hyperactive son on him.

Not perturbed at all, Trunks smiled brightly and said, "Okay! See you soon mom!" Then, he slipped his hand into his father's larger, unwilling one and trotted over to the couch. Vegeta followed, a long suffering sigh escaping his lips.

Bulma and Goku entered Gohan's room and Goku gently set his son down on the bed while Bulma went and got some medical supplies. After they were done patching him up, Bulma said, "It looks like I won't have to give him anything to help him sleep." She swiped the bangs out of his face and rested her hand on his forehead. "He looks like he's resting well enough."

Goku nodded. "Hey Bulma." He said.

She hummed in response, not looking away from Gohan's face.

"Why don't we go and join the others. We have something important to tell you." He said.

She looked at him in question, but he only shook his head, silently telling her that he wanted to wait until they had joined the others before telling her. She nodded and they both left the room.

As soon as they joined the others, Bulma could feel them tensing in anticipation. Now she was even more curious. Trunks just looked to be confused. He was wondering why the grown ups had gotten so serious all of a sudden. Goku turned to face his only female friend and rubbed the back of his head in normal Goku - like fashion.

"I'm not really sure how to say this, so I guess I'll just come out and say it." Goku let his arm fall back to his side and he straightened himself, looking more serious than Bulma had seen him in a long time. Then he took a deep breath and said, "The androids have been defeated."

Bulma's mind went blank. She stopped breathing. She stared at him, her eyes searching his face for any trace of deceit. She found none. "W-What?" She stuttered.

"The androids have been destroyed." Goku repeated without flinching.

Bulma's eyes flooded with tears while she brought a hand to her chest and repeatedly pat it. The breath she was holding came out in the form of a choked sob and the tears that had pooled in her eyes spilled over to run down her cheeks. Her hand moved from her chest to her mouth while her other arm wrapped itself around her midsection. She stumbled backwards to sit down, but all she found was the wall behind her. However, with this discovery her tears did not falter. As soon as her back hit the wall, her sobs intensified and her fingers tightened against her face in an attempt to stifle them as she sank to the floor.

She gave up trying to stop the sobs escaping from her lips after only a moment and her hand joined its partner in hugging herself. The tears flowing down her face were like raging rapids and didn't seem to have an end. She brought her knees as close to her chest as she could manage and she rested her forehead on them, sobs still wracking her body.

"Mom?"

Bulma lifted her head to see her son standing in front of her. Even through her tear blurred vision, she could tell he was very concerned. His eyebrows were drawn together and his lips were downturned in a concerned frown. His eyes showed his alarm. She was sure he had never seen her like this and was becoming scared. She hiccuped and desperately tried to calm herself for her son's sake, but, for the life of her, she just couldn't. This was the best news she had received in a _very_ long time.

Instead of answering his unasked question, Bulma unwrapped her arms from around herself and leaned forward to ensnare her son in the tightest hug she could muster, one hand on the back of his head and the other resting on his back. Her tears doubled. She leaned back against the wall again and half dragged her son into her lap.

Trunks was in a very awkward position, his head resting on his mother's bosom while he managed a half kneeling half lying position. However, Bulma couldn't really bring herself to care at the moment. She kept hugging him like her life depended on it. Her tears soaked his shirt.

It was over.

No more _hiding._

No more _fear._

No more _sorrow._

No more _pain_.

 _It was over._

Somehow, Trunks had managed to maneuver his arms around to hug his mother. He wasn't sure what was wrong, but he didn't want to see her like this. So, he did the only thing he could do. He started patting his mother's back in what Bulma thought was supposed to be a soothing manner and said, "It's okay, momma. Everything's going to be alright."

Bulma gave a shaky laugh and a watery smile, her tears slowing down and her breathing returning to normal. After she thought she had calmed down some, she pushed her son up, her hands resting on his shoulders, and looked him right in the eye.

"Yes." She said, her voice full of conviction. "Everything will be alright."

Trunks gave her a small smile and Bulma dragged him to her for one final hug before standing. She brushed imaginary dirt off of her clothes to give her a little more time to compose herself before looking up into the face of her friends and family. As her eyes flicked from face to face, each with smiles of varying degrees, she realized that the took a lot of happiness from her reaction. Not because they wanted to see her cry, but because they wanted to be able to witness her tears of unadulterated joy.

And all she wanted to do was yell at them because she felt so vulnerable.

Instead, she managed a small smile of her own because for the first time …

… for the first time in a very long time …

… she felt at peace.

 **DBZ**

All across the world, many groups of people surrounded radios, waiting in fear. Fear, for believing that they might be next on the Androids list. And as the emergency alert sound sounded through the speakers the world in unison tensed, waiting for the bad news that was sure to come next.

" _We interrupt your regularly scheduled programs to bring you an update on android activity."_

The onlookers waited in tense silence, some even starting to prepare to move to avoid the deadly duo.

" _We've just received notice - and - I mean - this is unbelievable … !"_

The listeners stopped what they were doing and looked very intently at the radio, waiting for the announcer to continue.

" _Ladies and gentlemen of the world! We no longer have to live in fear … !_

" _The Androids have been defeated!_

" _I repeat: the androids have been defeated!"_

And as one, the world broke out in violent cheers of celebration.


End file.
